"Aunty please help me with the history of avocados as food" begged my nephew. I had no idea about the history of avocado as food and so, I began my hunt on the internet to find that the fruit has very interesting stories to tell from the past. I thought of sharing this piece of information with all those avocado lovers who would love to hear more about the fruit.

Avocados or Alligator pear as they are lovingly called, is a typical tropical fruit, which belongs to the plant family of Lauraceae. Like any other fruit or vegetable, this green skinned pear shaped fruit also has many interesting anecdotes to reveal. So, next time when you set to polish down your plate of avocado salad, be contented that you know something unique about the fruit.

The timeline of avocado food history goes like this:                                          

• 291 BC: Avocado is believed to have originated in Mexico. The word Avocado is derived from the Aztec word "ahuacatl" meaning "testicle," an apparent reference to the shape of the fruit. During the first Spanish-Aztec invasion, Spaniards were served with the "ahuacacauahuitl" or testicle fruit. As they found the pronunciation bit tensed, they spanicized it to "aguacate," which was further anglicized to "avocado". Aztecs are believed to be the first users of Avocado. They prepared guacamole using the avocado fruit because they believed that avocado was one of the best aphrodisiacs nature has ever produced. They referred guacamole as ahuaca-mulli, which roughly translates to avocado sauce or avocado mixture. Avocado, the main ingredient of guacamole became popular with Spaniards, who loved to consume it with salt, sugar or both. As there is no concrete literature to support the actual origin of guacamole recipes, but Spaniards have documented their likes for the fruit through various food journal in medieval times.
• 1518: First published account of the avocado fruit appears in journal Suma De Geografia Que Trata De Todas Las Partidas Del Mundo written by Martin Fernandez de Enciso.
• 1526: Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, a chronicler of conquistadors, made a clear reference about the fruit in his journal. He talked in great detail about the buttery texture and pleasant taste of the testicle fruit consumed by the locals of Columbia. Unlike other fruits and vegetables, Avocado had a long wait before it took the world by craze. It took almost 5 millennia itself for the fruit to establish its roots throughout the Europe. As there were several other mentions about the uses of Avocados as aphrodisiacs and other medicinal purposes by different conquistadors from time to time, I felt the above dates spearheaded the new revolution in the avocado food history.                                                                                                   
  During my research I found that other than salad, Avocados are also good in soups, breads, desserts and other savory dishes.                                                                                        
  Image courtesy: daleysfruit.com.au