In exchange for a copy of my avocado book, master gardener Greg Alder of Ramona generously sent me a box of mixed avocado varieties, including some very obscure ones. Have you ever eaten a Nowell? Edranol? Cadway? Neither have I. If you want to know everything there is to know about growing avocados and other fruit!, check out his Yard Posts here.
One lesson I had to re-learn in my tasting is that different avocados ripen in different ways. Some, like Hass, are ready to go right when they become slightly soft to the touch. But others—especially the green skins—seem to need to be much softer before they reach peak flavor.
NOWELL: This was the smallest avocado I tried. It tasted a little underripe; I probably should have waited another few days or maybe it’s early in its season. It has the greenest flesh of any avocado I’ve ever seen. Quite mild and neutral tasting with medium oil content. Interesting with a pleasant vegetable-y taste. The tiny seed left a bit of its coat in the flesh.
CADWAY: Like the others, this is a green skin. A beautiful little avocado almost as round as some Carmens I’ve seen. Medium seed and yellow flesh. Very creamy texture with pleasantly mild, clean taste. Below average oil content. Perhaps should have allowed to get a bit softer.
EDRANOL. The best! Another green skin, but thick enough to peel easily. Very green flesh, especially toward the edges. Super smooth and creamy with high oil content. Buttery. Might be one of the best avocados I’ve ever eaten. The taste is somewhere between Hass and Fuerte, incorporating the best qualities of both. This is a fantastic avocado.
LAMORINDA. Yet another avocado I’d never heard of. Smaller fruit with very thin skin but peelable. Very pleasant, mild flavor, though (again!) I should have waited a few more days. Somewhat chewy texture. Medium oil content.
HASS. The only one I’d heard of. I tried Greg’s small Hass along with another California Hass I got at the market. I also tried one from Mexico. Both Cali Hass were delicious, though they seemed slightly lower in oil content, maybe because it’s fairly early in the season? The two California avocados tasted the same—medium plus oil content, buttery texture, pleasantly mild Hass taste. Delicious. The Mexican avocado was good too, with perhaps higher oil content, drier texture. But it had an almost neutral flavor–very little taste at all. I preferred the California avos. Interestingly, the store-bought Cali Hass & the Mexican Hass began to oxidize rapidly after opening. Greg’s is still just as beautiful hours after opening. Maybe the difference between pre-ripening and not?
Thank you again, Greg! I enjoyed trying these avocados. I hope people go to your site for avo information and to order avocados from you when they’re available.
