When was avocado discovered

The avocado Persea americana originated in south-central Mexico, sometime between 7, and 5, B. But it was several millennia before this wild variety was cultivated. Archaeologists in Peru have found domesticated avocado seeds buried with Incan mummies dating back to B. The first English-language mention of avocado was by Sir Henry Sloane in Fast forward to , when Judge R. Ord of Santa Barbara successfully introduced avocados to the U.

Most California Avocados are harvested on approximately 50, acres from Monterey through San Diego by nearly 3, growers. Ventura and San Diego top the list of avocado producing counties in California. California Avocados are grown year-round. A single California Avocado tree can produce up to pounds of fresh fruit each year, approximately pieces, although most average around 60 pounds or pieces of fruit. They'd stolen the produce from the California agriculture firm that employed them, then passed them off at discount prices that seemed—and were—too good to be true.

Such tales of produce-pilfering shouldn't be surprising, given that demand for the buttery fruit is at an all-time high.

Americans devour 7 pounds of avocado per person each year, compared to 1 pound on average back in Per capita consumption of avocados has tripled since the early s, according to the USDA. Yet nearly all of these avocados—some 95 percent in the U. As it turns out, the Hass avocado's story began with a delicious mistake. Avocados were a popular snack food long before humans hit the scene. In the Cenozoic era, prehistoric megafauna like mammoths and giant ground sloths would gobble the fruit whole and then travel long distances, before pooping out the seed and thus dispersing the trees.

Because of this animal-specific dispersion system, avocados might easily have vanished with those great mammals 13, years ago. But somehow, they survived. By B. Ahuacatl was the Nahuatl word for "testicle," an apparent testament to the avocado's appearance when growing in pairs, and nod to its supposed properties as an aphrodisiac.

Not only were testicles not great for branding, but it was hard for North Americans to pronounce. A little modification was in order. The Spanish used the term aguacate , and California farmers began promoting their own variation of that, "avocado," in In , according to legend and the University of California at Riverside, California postman Rudolph Hass brought some avocado seedlings home to grow on his La Habra Heights property. One defied repeated attempts to receive grafts from an existing avocado variety, bore no fruit and sorely tempted Hass to cut it down.

But instead, he simply let the tree grow unattended. The Spanish called the fruit aguacate, a corruption of ahuacatl.

The Spanish eventually brought avocados to Europe and sold them to other countries including England. Different people, including George Washington, described finding and eating avocados in the West Indies. Share this:. Copy this link. We begin with some surprising news: avocados shouldn't actually be here at all. In the early s, Avocado farmers in California were seeking new ways to market their product.

With the rise of guacamole, people started wondering: what else could you do with them…? This article was originally published on 10 April More from News. A love letter to my hometown high street. The Left Behind: What makes young people join the far right? Most Popular. Every question you ever had about female ejaculation, answered.