Recipe: Kid-Made Avocado Cilantro Salsa

Hi! I’m Avocado!

"Hola! (Hello!) My name is Avocado, and I'm so happy to be an ingredient in your dish! Avocados can be sliced or chopped and presented naturally, or you can mash us and add lime or lemon juice, salt, cilantro, garlic, onions, jalapeños, and other seasonings to make Guacamole! The citrus juice provides flavor and also keeps us from turning brown in the air. Did you know that avocados are sometimes called Alligator Pears due to our pear-like shape and green skin?"

History

• Avocados originated in Mexico and Central America, where Spanish is the national language. Their history dates back 7,000 years. Avocado in Spanish is “aguacate!”
• Avocados are now popular all over the globe and are used in all types of recipes! Most of our avocados are grown in Mexico and California. Avocado trees grow best in mild, warm climates with moderate humidity. They don't like cold weather.
• The most popular avocado is the "Hass." All Hass avocados are descendants of a "mother tree" that grew in the backyard of a man's house in California.

Anatomy & Etymology

• Avocados have a seed or pit! Botanically speaking, that makes them a fruit! So, technically, avocados are berries. Berry interesting, no?
• Avocados come in different shapes, from oval to pear, depending on the variety. The skin looks like fine leather, which helps them to withstand the fierce Mexican sun. It's not edible and is durable enough to protect the ripening avocado flesh inside.
• Some have smooth skin, while others have a rougher, more pebbled appearance. Most are glossy green, while a few varieties turn purplish-black when ripe. But regardless of the exterior, all have a large, inedible seed surrounded by the soft, buttery, creamy-white to greenish-yellow flesh on the inside, with a delicate nutty taste! 
• The word "avocado" comes from the mid-17th century Spanish "aguacate," from the Nahuatl "ahuacatl," which has been combined with other words, such as "ahuacamolli," meaning avocado soup or sauce. That is how we get the word "guacamole." 

How to Pick, Buy, & Eat

• Avocados grow on big evergreen trees with a beautiful crown of smooth, glossy, dark green leaves that shade the avocados from the sun. Avocados mature slowly and steadily on the tree but put off ripening until picked. One tree can produce 150 to 500 avocados per year.  
• Avocado trees grow best in mild, warm climates with moderate humidity. They don’t like cold weather.  
• How to properly peel an avocado: The method you use to peel an avocado can make a difference to your health. Research has shown that the greatest concentration of carotenoids in avocado occurs in the dark green flesh that lies just beneath the skin. Therefore, you don't want to slice into that dark green portion any more than necessary when peeling an avocado. For this reason, the best method is what the California Avocado Commission has called the "nick and peel" method. In this method, you peel the avocado with your hands in the same way you would peel a banana. The first step in the nick-and-peel method is to cut into the avocado lengthwise, producing two long avocado halves that are still connected in the middle by the seed. Next, you take hold of both halves and twist them in opposite directions until they naturally separate. At this point, remove the seed and cut each of the halves lengthwise to produce long quartered sections of the avocado. Finally, use your thumb and index finger to grip the edge of the skin on each quarter and peel it off, just as you would do with a banana skin. The result is a peeled avocado that contains most of that dark green outermost flesh that is so rich in carotenoid antioxidants!
• Avocado is delicious mashed and spread on toast, chopped and added to salsas, sliced and fanned across salads, and diced and added to soups. In addition, avocado can be breaded and fried and stuffed into tacos, mashed or whipped and added to desserts (like cakes and puddings (yum!), and, of course, used as a base for countless varieties of guacamole.

Nutrition

• Good fat! Avocado is one of only a few fruits to contain fat—the special kind that’s really good for you and keeps you healthy. It’s a source of essential fatty acids and is mostly the same kind of healthy fat found in olive oil. What body part needs this type of fat?! The brain!
• Vitamin E keeps our blood healthy! 
• B Vitamins help our bodies make energy!
• Fiber helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels and fight heart disease!
• The most nutrition in an avocado is the part of the flesh that’s closest to the peel! This darker green flesh has particular nutrients called carotenoids. The Guinness Book of World Records calls the Avocado the most nutritious fruit known to man!