Mantequilla de Pobre

The avocado has had many names before it settled on what we call it today, including: mantequilla de probre, alligator pears, aguacate, and agovago pears. The latter was coined by George Washington in the West Indies in 1751. Today, avocados may be one of the biggest food trends in America. However, their story isn’t as glamorous as our lovely American culture leads us to believe; their beginning was rather shoddy. Avocados should have died out thousands of years ago, but with the help of the elephants, they’ve lived to see another day. The giant animals were all about the trend before it was trendy, due to their size they would pass the seeds and start new plants. The avocado was discovered in the 1500s in Mexico by the Aztec people; it was originally called “ahuacatl” which translates to “testicle” in the Aztec’s native language Nahuatl. Many believe that’s the reason for avocados being considered an aphrodisiac. Since the Aztecs’ discovery of the avocado it has become known as a SUPER FOOD.

Avocados not only have become one of the healthiest and effortless “good fats” that we have available to us. They’re also popular all around the world. (And not just in the trendy, “this is what everyone is going to #eat this week because it was seen on social media” way.) People LOVE avocados all over the world. People around the globe, devour avocados for their many health benefits. Considered a “good fat,” the avocado helps lower cholesterol, contains protein, 20 essential vitamins, and they only have 50 calories per serving. Avocados are used more diversely in other parts of the world. For example, in Taiwan, the avocado is eaten with milk and sugar. Indonesians mix avocado with milk, coffee and rum, and in the Philippines, avocados are used to make a dessert beverage with sugar and milk as well.

The top three leading avocado growers include Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Peru. Over 2.3 TONS of avocados are produced between these three countries each year. The United States falls at number 6 on this list, producing 179 TONS of avocados per year. Due to their warm climates, most of the avocado growing is done in California or Florida where they first became popular in the United States in the 20th century. California is still the leader in growing and consuming avocados. In Walt Whitman’s poem “This Compost,” one line says, “it grows such sweet things out of such corruption” (Whitman). I like this line in this poem because it is true, the earth is sweet regardless of the corruptions we deal with on the daily. I also think this is metaphoric for the avocado in the sense that it has a black bumpy skin (corruption) and a creamy and beautiful green center.

When you type the “hashtag” avocado into Instagram, 6 million posts emerge: #AvocadoToast has 400,000 posts, #Guacamole has 1.2 million posts, and there is even a whole  month dedicated to guacamole. Even #Guactober has a couple of hundred posts. Survey says: the people like avocado. And they want others to know. However, the avocado may not be as readily available as the people would like it to be in the coming months, While Mexico’s production of avocados continues to rise, so does the never ending desire for a good avocado every now and then.

For my cookbook entry, I have made authentic Mexican guacamole, because that’s the only reason why avocados exist right? Originally, I planned on making an Americanized recipe to show the side-by-side differences between the two. However, avocados are expensive and this is college, so I do not have the funds. The biggest difference between the two are obvious. As Americans typically do, they dress up the guacamole and cover up many of the natural flavors that can be brought out with something as simple as salt. In the Mexican Guacamole recipes, the main ingredients are avocado, lime, salt. Often times, tomatoes and onions can be added for flavor and color. The recipe below is from Food.com

• finely chopped fresh jalapeno (optional)

To make up to 6 servings, follow these directions:

Avocados have had a long journey from being discovered and coined the “alligator pear,” to cultivators not being able to produce enough of them, to getting a month, “guactober,” dedicated to them. I predict that avocados will continue to stay relevant but will not be nearly as “trendy” as they are currently. After learning about the origin of avocados, nutrition facts, as well as other uses besides guacamole, I have a better understanding of where they came from. It’s very interesting that the Aztecs were the first people to eat avocados, and that one of our founding fathers was the first to bring them to America. In Spanish-speaking countries, avocados are considered “poor man’s butter” or “mantequilla de pobre,” which is interesting since they’re prices are increasing here. I hope you all enjoy the guacamole that I’ve prepared for you.

Work Cited

“Home.” AvoSeedo – Grow Your Own Avocado Tree! Avoseedo, n.d. Web. 18 May 2017.

Chi-town, Theresa In. “Authentic Mexican Guac Recipe.” Authentic Mexican Guac Recipe –. Food.com, 26 Aug. 2005. Web. 18 May 2017.

“The Walt Whitman Archive.” THIS COMPOST! ( Leaves of Grass (1867)) – The Walt Whitman Archive. Whitman Archive, n.d. Web. 18 May 2017.

“Top Ten Countries by Avocado Production – World Top Ten.” Maps of World. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2017.