I just received a bag of big ol' avocados from down Miami way (thanks Christine, Courtney, Josh) and it is reinforcing my notion that our Florida avocados are far superior to those California Haas avocados on a number of fronts.
Forget the fact that they contain less fat. That's not a plus in my book. Fat is good. And good fat is even gooder.
If I had to just sit down and eat an avocado plain -- ok, maybe a little lime and salt -- I'd probably go with the California variety. Ounce for ounce, they pack a lot more flavor. But our Florida avocados lend themselves better to cooking. I'm going to take a couple of my avocados and make a curried avocado soup which is easy and perfect for these hot-hot days. And I'm gonna take a couple more and make a big batch of guacamole, some of which will top the tostones we're having for dinner tonight.
Here's the what wins it for Florida avocados: They are bigger, much bigger (see how they dwarf the English muffins? See how just a small slice is half as big as my hand?) No, bigger is not necessarily better ... except when it comes, perhaps, to avocados. The California and Florida varieties both cost about $1.59 at the grocery store these days. But ours are about four times bigger. Lean avocados for lean times...
