Avocado is a pear-shaped fruit that grows on tropical trees. They usually have a rough, green rind, fatty flesh, and a large core in the middle. They can come in many shapes, sizes, colors, and textures, and their flavors are often similar.
Even if you are familiar with only a few varieties of avocado, hundreds of varieties are grown around the world. Many are hybrids, meaning they are the result of two varieties combined to form a new one.
Here are 14 common avocado types, including their benefits and differences.
Avocado health benefits
Avocados are highly nutritious. They contain wonderful folate, potassium, and healthy fats, as well as vitamins K, C, and E. They also contain small amounts of B vitamins and minerals such as copper, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron and zinc.
The monounsaturated fats in avocados, mostly oleic acid, are good for your heart, fight inflammation, and may have anticancer properties. Avocado is full of fiber. Fiber is an essential nutrient that is lacking in most western diets. Some studies have found that people who eat avocados weigh less due to the fruit’s high fiber and healthy fat content, as well as its low glycemic index.
Avocados also contain antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin that are good for your eyes and brain. These antioxidants may lower your risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, and Alzheimer’s.
Studies show that people who regularly eat avocados are healthier and have a lower risk of metabolic syndrome. But this may be because many people who enjoy this fruit also eat many other healthy foods.
Different types of avocados
Although you may see only a few types of avocados in the market, hundreds of varieties are grown around the world. The fruits are classified as type A or B varieties. The difference lies in the opening times and pollination behavior of avocado tree flowers.
Avocado is self-pollinating. Type A flowers bloom like females in the morning and pollinate like males in the afternoon. Type B flowers take pollen in the afternoon and shed in the morning.
Many share similar characteristics in size, colour, flavor and shape. Here are the 15 most common types of avocados.
A-type varieties
Most common A-type avocado varieties:
Choquette: Choquette is juicy and meaty, often oozing when cut. It has a smooth and shiny shell.
Lula: Lula reaches its peak in summer, has less natural fat and contains more water than many other varieties. It is resistant to cold but very sensitive to fungi.
Hass: Hass is the most popular variety. It can be used all year round and has an oily, aromatic and spherical shape. The bark changes from dark green to dark purplish black and matures.
Reed: Reed grows only in summer. It has a milder flavor. As the reed matures, its bark remains the same green color unlike other species.
Pinkerton: Pinkerton has an oblong, rough peel that is easy to peel. It has small nuclei.
Gwen: Gwen is similar in flavor and appearance to the Hass avocado. This is a larger variety with a dark green rind that is easy to remove.
Maluma: Maluma is a deep purple avocado discovered in South Africa in the 1990s. This variety grows slowly, but its trees bear more fruit.
B-type varieties
Some of the B-type avocados:
Ettinger: Ettinger It has a bright green rind and large seeds. Its taste is mild compared to others.
Sharwil: Sharwil is an Australian avocado with a firm green rind and yellow flesh. It has a bold flavor, is very oily and sensitive to frost.
Zutano: Zutano is covered with a lighter, yellow-green rind and has a mild flavor unlike most other oily varieties.
Brogden: Brogden avocado is a dark-purple hybrid of West Indian and Mexican cultivars. It is very resistant to cold and is difficult to peel. For this reason, it is a popular commercial variety.
Fuerte: Fuerte is pear-shaped and grows for eight months of the year. Its name means “strong” in Spanish and has an oily texture.
Cleopatra: Cleopatra is a small dwarf avocado that is relatively new to the consumer market
Monroe: Monroe, A large variety of avocado that weighs more than 910 grams A firmer variety with less juicy flesh
How to choose the healthiest avocado
Avocados are generally very similar nutritionally regardless of the type. All avocados are calorie-dense and high in healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Overall, avocados are very nutritious and offer similar health benefits of all types
Avocados These are highly nutritious fruits that provide many benefits.In addition to vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, unsaturated fats and fiber can help reduce the risk of various chronic diseases and improve your health. they are rich.
Although only one or two varieties are best known, there are hundreds of species in the world that differ in size, colour, shape, texture and taste. The most popular and widely available type of avocado is Hass. However, if you come across another variety, know that it probably has a similar nutritional value.
In any case, avocado makes an excellent addition to a healthy and balanced diet.
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