LOCAL HERO: HOLY GUACAMOLE

Once hailed by renowned botanist David Fairchild as a "veritable fruit of paradise", avocados have become an indispensable ingredient in our daily diets and are now grown locally year-round.

  • It’s a ubiquitous sight on many a household windowsill: A toothpick-skewered avocado pip precariously balanced over a jar of water. The hope is that it will grow roots and shoots and one day yield as many avocados as that coveted tree in the neighbour’s backyard, but in reality, few have the patience to wait 10 years for their saplings to mature into fruit-bearing trees.

  • Luckily, we live in an age of convenience, where Woolies stock avocados not only seasonally, but year-round. Westfalia Fruit, the largest avo exporter in the country and the main supplier of avocados to Woolworths, has been investing heavily in research for decades, particularly in cultivar development, to provide local consumers with a year-round supply of high-quality, locally grown avocados.

  • With the introduction of Carmen Hass® and Gem®, which are available exclusively at Woolworths, the avocado season – which usually lasted from February to September – has been significantly extended.

    Described as the “romantic” of the avocado cultivars because of its prolific flowering habit, Carmen Hass does justice to the avocado’s moniker of “alligator pear” with its knobbly skin. It rewards farmers with multiple crops at various periods in the year, unlike other varieties that can only be harvested during a limited window once a year. 
     

  • Gem®, available from September right through to late summer, differs from Hass in shape and colour, with a skin that, upon ripening, turns dark purple and is highlighted with golden flecks.

    To prevent that dreaded rock-hard avo from landing up in your shopping basket, Westfalia’s dedicated in-house team of horticultural scientists and technicians carefully manage the process of testing their fruit for maturity before harvesting. Once suitably ripe, the avos are handpicked, sorted and then packed for local and international markets, before being transported in temperature-controlled containers to their destinations.

  • On top of being one of the most popular fruits in South Africa because of its deliciously rich taste and creamy texture.

    Add to these benefits the fact that this irresistible fruit is now available throughout the year, and you have no excuse to not pop a punnet into your trolley today.