On Food and Cooking

as flavorings (p. 408). Avocado fruits are
remarkable for containing little or no sugar or
starch, and for being as much as 30% oil, the
equivalent of well-marbled meat (but marbled
with olive oil; avocado oil is largely
monounsaturated). They apparently evolved to
appeal to large animals with a high calorie
requirement. The name comes from the
Nahuatl word ahuacatl, which was apparently
inspired by the fruit’s pear-like shape and
irregular surface; it means “testicle.”
There are three geographical groups of
avocado. The Mexican group evolved in
relatively cool subtropical highlands, so the
trees are the most cold-tolerant; they produce
small and smooth-fleshed fruit that are high in
oil and can take relatively low storage
temperatures, around 40ºF/4ºC. The lowland
group evolved on the semitropical west coast
of Guatemala and are the least cold-tolerant;
their fruits tend to be large and coarse-fleshed
and suffer chilling injury below about