AVOCADO

AVOCADO

LATIN NAME: PERSEA AMERICANA

HOMELAND: MEXICO

Aristocrat of Fruits

Avocado, which was associated with male testicles by the ancient civilizations of Central America, is considered to be the place where it first appeared. Due to its growth in doubleclusters, and was deemed worthy of all kinds of compliments, this fruit, which was almos tdeified with the belief that it also gives sexual power to men and fertility to women. Californian Farmer Rudolph Hass, developed with his experiments in 1926 the most widely consumed type of HASS avocado today.

Although its homeland is Mexico, paleontologists think it may be a fruit of African origin. The reason is the thought that the poultry that lived in the age of the dinosaurs may have eaten them whole and left their seeds in the Central American Region by defecating.

In Central America, traces of avocados dating back 15 thousand years have been found, and data have been reached that it was consumed as a sacred fruit in all ancient civilizations known to have lived in the region.

It was thought that the name of the avocado fruit, known as Ahuatl in Aztec language, which was symbolized with male testicles in the Aztecs due to its double cluster stance on its branches, was thought to mean testis in the Aztec language. It turned out that this word was actually the name of the avocado and was used in a metaphorical sense for the testis. In the Aztec civilization, where it is believed that the double cluster posture on the branches of the avocado arouses women, it was forbidden for women to even leave the house during the avocado harvest.

The idea that avocados helped women conceive in the Aztecs was probably based on the 9 months of ripening of the fruit, but it could not be scientifically proven. The fact that it contains a high amount of folic acid, supports the view that it can contribute to a comfortable pregnancy period.

In Colombia, there is a belief that for a happy marriage or relationship, two avocados in a bunch should be eaten between a husband and wife.

The original Central Americana vocado, which was brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th century, could not be accepted in Europe except for the Ottoman Empire. Avocado, which was brought to Istanbul by Molla Kamil Efendi from France, where he went for botanical education in the 17th century, began to be loved and consumed by the Ottoman Palace and its immediate surroundings in a short time, and it was cultivated on large lands. During the Patrona Halil Rebellion, all avocado trees were cut down because of its obscene shape.

The victim of misunderstandings in the 16th and 17th centuries, avocado has gained the title of the aristocrat of fruits by gaining its deserved place in modern kitchens since 1970’s, after the movements of freedom of thought and expression that started around the world in the 1960s.