Everything you want to know about Avocados
Avocados are the rich, creamy fruit we can’t get enough of! And for good reason – they’re darn delicious and they’re good for us too being chock full of vitamin C, fibre, antioxidants and beneficial mono-unsaturated fats. Whether you do simple avo toast, add them to every salad, or love transforming them into something new, avocados are a welcome friend in any fruit bowl.
Let’s get to know avocado seasons and varieties, master the art of storage plus make the most of their nutty flavour in our favourite easy recipes. It’s a creamy avo-lanch of deliciousness!
Australian avocados - common varieties and harvest seasons
Native to Central and South America, avocados grow really well in Australia, mostly in our subtropical and warm temperate climates, but also in cooler southern states too. Different varieties are at their peak at different times of the year, which means we can often enjoy delicious, nutritious avocados all year round. Lucky us!
Hass – in season from late winter to early summer. A medium size pear shaped fruit with a brilliant flavour and creamy soft flesh. Their pebbly skin helpfully becomes dark purple/black when ripe. Hass avocados have a long season and are by far the most common commercially grown avocado. If you feel like you see them everywhere you’re not wrong – 80% of all avos grown and sold in Australia are Hass.
Lamb Hass – in season from spring to summer. Lamb Hass avocados are a hybrid Hass variety with slightly larger fruit that has the same creamy flesh and fantastic flavour. Lamb Hass also have a later harvest period, which helps to extend the seasonal availability of this much loved variety.
Shepard – in season from late summer to autumn. Shepard avocado are a small to medium avocado with a rich buttery flavour. As an added bonus, when cut they’re less likely to go brown than other varieties.
Fuerte – in season from late autumn to spring. Fuerte avocados are a smaller pear shaped fruit with smooth dark green skin, firm flesh, a great nutty flavour and a prized high oil content. Fuerte are often crowned the tastiest avo, and have a dedicated following of Fuerte fans.
Reed – in season from late spring to early summer. Reed avocados are a large, rounded variety with thick green skin and great flavour. By all accounts the flavour of Reed avocados are less affected than others when stored in the fridge when cut.
Bacon – in season from autumn to early winter. Apart from being a great name, Bacon is the most cold tolerant variety. Bacon avocados are a tasty pear shaped avo and can grow well in our southern states – you may even have one yourself in your Melbourne backyard!
Sharwill – in season through winter. Sharwill avocados are a glossy green pear shaped fruit with a smaller stone and wonderful flavour.
How to store avocados for freshness and flavour
Avocados will ripen naturally once picked. Store your avocados at room temperature – on the kitchen bench where you can keep a keen eye on them is best! When ripe to eat, the stem area will be firm but yield to gentle pressure.
Ripening can be assisted by warmth, but also by high ethylene emitters such as apples, pears and bananas – storing avocados next to them or together in a breathable paper bag will help them ripen more quickly.
Once ripe, avos can be chilled in the fridge for up to a week if you’re not able to eat them straight away. Flavour and texture can be affected but it’s still helpful in a pinch!
Check our complete Fruit and Veg Storage Guide here.
How to keep a half avocado fresh? Cut avocado will turn brown due to oxidisation, so there’s a few things that will help if you’re not eating it all at once. Keep a half avocado from browning by rinsing with cold water, or squeezing lemon over the flesh. It’ll stay fresh and green in the fridge for a few more days.
Or for something more controversial (and perhaps even more effective?) we slice it across rather than lengthways, then store sealed by the perfect sized cup or mug. Cutting it horizontally exposes less flesh to the air, and the tight seal minimises oxidisation. The Snug Mug, once you start you can’t stop.
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Our favourite avocado recipes
Holy guacamole, it’s time to feast! More than just the most perfect thing to smoosh on your toast, avocados can be the key ingredient to make your next dish really sing. Here we’ve collected some of our favourite avocado recipes from our online collection that let their creamy, nutty, buttery selves take centre stage.
This week we have beautifully creamy avocados to make loads of this totally delicious guacamole. We’ve gone right to the source for this one – straight to Kensington in fact, and the makers of our authentic corn tortillas and totopos. Big thanks to Gerardo and Diana from La Tortilleria for sharing their guacamole recipe!
This summer-forward dish is super hearty as a main course with your fav protein; veggie burgers, chicken, tuna, chicken or red meat – there’s nothing it wouldn’t go with. Best enjoyed outside on a balmy evening!
This crunchy cucumber and avocado salad is a bit of a cult classic; it’s so simple and satisfying. To help celebrate Festival of Fava down at CERES Joe’s Market Garden, we added some broadies to the mix. They joined the party with sweet, nutty style.
This avocado and broad bean mash gives a guac-like spread some sweet spring interest! You could whip this up as part of a mezze or, we had it on a La Tortilleria tortilla with these super quick black beans, a fried egg, shredded cabbage, coriander and lime. It was quick, fresh weeknight dinner!
