If you’ve watched a Super Bowl in the past couple of years, chances are you can probably sing the “Avocados from Mexico” jingle on cue. As the popularity of avocados has grown, Mexican avocados have been the first choice of shoppers and chefs all over the country. But there’s a lot more to it than just a catchy tune and marketing magic.
Mexico is one of the few places in the world where avocados grow year-round with four annual blooms that produce the tasty green fruit. And in the Mexican state of Michoacán, also known as “Avocadoland,” over 30,000 avocado orchards bloom 365 days a year thanks to abundant sunshine, rich volcanic soil and ample rainfall.
But Michoacán’s fertile land can’t take all of the credit. For generations, Mexican avocado growers have experimented, tested, tasted, and created the ideal fruit. They even developed a unique grafting technique to blend the best parts of two avocado plants: the sturdy branches of the Patron plant and the hearty roots of the Criollo plant. The grafting process is a painstaking one, but in three to five years, the small tree will start producing up to 750 pounds of avocado per year. What results is the world-favorite Hass, the most perfect avocado plant in the world, handmade by passionate growers with love, care, and a dedication to the land.
Avocado growers in Mexico have also perfected the harvesting process. They use a special pole to pick the fruit then must catch each avocado before it reaches the ground. This is key as quality control mandates that avocados can never touch the ground, or they cannot be exported. Samples of the harvest must also be checked to make sure the crop is ripe, and that its taste meets the high standards set by avocado lovers around the world. These young avocados then get a thorough bath. They are lovingly washed and brushed until their natural wax shines through. Finally, a camera is used to detect skin imperfections or differences in size, and any avocados that don’t make the cut, are eliminated.
The green gems that are determined worthy enough are then shipped within a few days straight to our restaurants and put to work on your plate. So, the next time you get a bite of buttery green freshness, you’ll have a better idea of where it came from…and why it tastes so great.
