The prickly alligator pear. Smooth butter fruit. No matter how you cut it, avocado is a food on the move across the globe. In Brazil, locals make a delicious avocado ice cream. In Vietnam, it’s all about the milkshakes.

And with 70 percent of world production, let’s not forget Mexico where avocados begin as guacamole and end up in spicy ceviche.

As we grow increasingly health-conscious in our diets, avocado has stepped up to the plate as a choice replacement for fatty meats. Think ALT, hold the bacon. Think of all the veggie wraps teasing you away from those roast beef sandwiches.

The small irony here is that avocado is one fat fruit. A typical, medium-sized variety provides 25 percent of your daily intake, if you eat the whole thing. Most of this is monounsaturated fat — the good kind — with no cholesterol and no sodium.

Did You Know? Hass avocados, the most common cultivar grown in California, descend from a single tree. A mail carrier named Rudolph Hass purchased a seedling in 1926 and planted it in his front yard in La Habra Heights.

Every Hass crop since can be traced back to grafts from this one mother tree. Bob Gieseker, store manager at Bryan’s Grocery says his customers ask for Hass avocadoes by name. “It’s the only kind that sells,” he says. “We go through about 700 a week. They’re just more flavorful.”

Tricks of the Trade To ripen avocados, place them in a brown paper bag for two to five days. You can accelerate the process by throwing in an apple or banana to create more ethylene gas. Soft avocados can be refrigerated, but only for a day or two.

Peeling avocados is easy: Cut lengthwise and twist the two halves apart. With a short stroke (be careful!), bury the heel of a kitchen knife into the seed pit. Twist to remove, and scoop the flesh out with a spoon.

Once peeled, avocados will oxidate. A sprinkle of lemon juice helps, but you can also bathe the whole avocado in warm water for two to three hours before cutting. This slows down those pesky enzymes without sacrificing flavor or texture. [via]