Avocado

The avocado is arguably the most iconic food of the twenty-first century. In less than one-hundred years, it has gone from a little-known regional delicacy to global embrace and social media fame. This may seem like an astounding trajectory for a fruit that isn’t sweet, that gets bitter when it is cooked, and has perhaps the oddest texture of any fruit or vegetable. But it is precisely the avocado’s contradictions that have contributed to its ascent: the idea that this rich and delicious fruit is also healthy despite being fatty and energy-dense grants it unicorn status with modern eaters, especially millennials. Through lively anecdotes, colorful pictures, and delicious recipes, Jeff Miller explores the meteoric rise of the avocado, from its coevolution with the megaherbivores of the Pleistocene to its acceptance by the Spanish conquistadors in Mexico, to its current dominance of food consumers’ imaginations.

This book is comprised of 15 chapters covering principles and basic understanding in avocado science, technology, best management practices and postharvest aspects. It is aimed at avocado researchers, libraries, teachers and academics, students, advisers, cutting edge growers and industry support personnel. Topics discussed include the history, distribution, uses, taxonomy, botany, genetics, breeding, ecology, reproductive biology, ecophysiology, cultivars and rootstocks, propagation, biotechnology, irrigation and mineral nutrition, crop management, foliar, fruit and soil-borne diseases, insect and mite pests and harvesting, packing, postharvest technology, transport and processing.

Buying a property isn’t easy. It’s not meant to be. It’s one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make in your life. But it is worth it. At thirty, journalist Nicole Haddow had an unstable income, no financial plan and only credit-card debt to her name. But less than two years later she was a homeowner. In Smashed Avocado, Nicole explains the steps she took to purchase her own home, and interviews other people who have found diverse ways to enter the property market, including rentvesting, flipping, Airbnb, tiny homes and buying regionally. She shares practical tips from property experts and the acquired wisdom of a new generation of homeowners – down to the micro-details. She even thrashes it out with Bernard Salt, the man who said young people should stop splashing out on expensive brunches if they want to own their own home. Nicole’s story is inspiring and optimistic – but, most importantly, it’s realistic. The home ownership dream might look different today, but it’s still possible to make it a reality. ‘A refreshingly real, informative and thoroughly researched must-read for anyone struggling to enter the housing market’ —Lucy Feagins, The Design Files

Learn how to prep, style, and eat this phenomenally popular superfood With over sixty recipes included from breakfast through to dessert--with everything from avo nuggets to avo ice pops to adding avocado to classic dishes--the culinary creations in this book prove that avocados are not only tasty and nutritious but incredibly versatile too. The Avocado Book is filled with pages of inspiration on how to make the most of this number one superfood.

From social media to hipster menus, avocados are trending, and this utterly original cookbook from the avocado’s native Mexico celebrates the fruit that went from Aztec aphrodisiac to twenty-first-century clean-eating superfood. Everything there is to know about avocados is here: ancient origins, amazing health properties, restorative cosmetic uses, and a recipe collection far beyond the tried and true. This book features a fresh visual design aesthetic that reflects the creative sensibility of Mexican contemporary art, graphic design, atmospheric photography, and street style. Recipes cover everything from guacamole in many variations, salads, unusual sides, many permutations of avocado toast—even toastless avocado sandwiches—as well as less well-known and offbeat uses. The book also explores avocado butter and oil; detoxifying smoothies; rejuvenating cosmetic salves and masks, and much more. Practical matters are also addressed: an avocado overview by type; storage tips; preserving the brilliant green flesh from browning; ripening immature fruits; and safety tips for slicing and de-pitting. Avocados are grown in Mediterranean climates globally and dominate social media, hip restaurant menus, and health-based diets, but this is the first book paying tribute to the superfruit’s deep roots as a native, Mexican heritage food. WINNER OF THE 2022 GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOK AWARDS

'One of the best novels about growing up fast' GUARDIAN 'One falls for Sally Jay Gorce from a great height from the first sentence' OBSERVER 'Scandalous and entertaining . . . Both funny and true' EVENING STANDARD The Dud Avocado gained instant cult status on first publication and remains a timeless portrait of a woman hellbent on living. Sally Jay Gorce is a woman with a mission. It's the 1950s, she's young and she's in Paris. Having dyed her hair pink, she wears evening dresses in the daytime and vows to go native in a way not even the natives can manage. Embarking on an educational programme that includes an affair with a married man (which fizzles out when she realises he's single and wants to marry her); nights in cabarets and jazz clubs in the company of assorted "citizens of the world"; an entanglement with a charming psychopath and a bit part in a film financed by a famous matador. But an education like this doesn't come cheap. Will our heroine be forced back to the States to fulfill her destiny as a librarian, or can she keep up her whirlwind Parisian existence? Books included in the VMC 40th anniversary series include: Frost in May by Antonia White; The Collected Stories of Grace Paley; Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault; The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter; The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann; Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith; The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West; Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston; Heartburn by Nora Ephron; Memento Mori by Muriel Spark; A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor; and Faces in the Water by Janet Frame

"Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a tropical tree native from south-central Mexico, showing nowadays an increasing commercial interest worldwide for its unique sensorial characteristics, high nutritional quality, and its medicinal uses. The global market is ruled by the exportation of the fresh fruit; but, the presence of avocado products (mainly avocado oil) is gaining interest and currently involves close to 20%, both for human and industrial (mainly cosmetic) purposes. The fruits are mostly consumed raw as guacamole, a dip traditionally made by mashing ripe avocados with salt or added as an ingredient in salads. Avocado fruit is rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (mostly oleic acid) and fiber. Moreover, the fruit is rich in bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids, tocopherols, potassium, and sitosterol. Their health properties are mostly related to the high amount of antioxidant compounds present. Thus, it is used as an auxiliary agent in the reduction of cholesterol and triglyceride levels and weight management. In the food industry, the use of avocado oil as a preservative has been explored for its high antimicrobial activity. Therefore, this book covers a wide variety of topics related to avocado fruit and avocado by-products, including their therapeutic and nutraceutical potential, their bioactive compounds, and oxidative stability. Also, new research about the characterization of avocado and avocado-based products, its conservation, and potential use as a food industrial antioxidant and antimicrobial is included as well. Finally, an interesting update of patents on avocado products related to health is also reviewed"--

Do you love avocados no matter how you serve them? Then this is the perfect cookbook for you. Absolutely Avocados will introduce you to delightfully delicious new ideas for using this healthy superfood in breakfasts, lunches, salads, snacks, and plenty of other ways you haven't even imagined-like smoothies! The first book from renowned blogger and chef Gaby Dalkin, Absolutely Avocados displays a fresh and simple cooking style-a mix of California casual with a healthy dose of Southwestern flair-with 80 recipes like grilled flank steak with avocado chimichurri, avocado stuffed potato skins, and crab and avocado quesadillas. And if you're new to avocados entirely, an introductory section walks you through the common varieties of avocado with foolproof advice on cutting, storing, and picking ripe avocados at the market. So, if you love avocados and healthy, great-tasting food, this is the perfect cookbook for you. Book jacket.