A Taste of Australian Avocados

"Hello", the avocado beacons as I entered the foyer of the lecture theatre of Berjaya University College of Hospitality. The avocados on display looked so fresh and inviting and it's no wonder since I was invited for this A Taste of Australian Avocados event by Agri-Science Queensland in partnership with The Avocado Export Company and brought in via Euro-Atlantic, the importer of hass and shepard avocados.

The event was kicked off and Jodie Campbell was introduced to us. Campbell has more than 2o years in research, development, extension and marketing in Australian and International Horticulture. She gave us and introduction on avocados, benefits and uses of avocados, guiding us on how to select good quality avocados to choosing the right ripeness.



There's always a misconception of avocados being very fattening and it's not helping when the Chinese calls it "ngaw yau gor" (butter fruit). Not sure why it's named in such but I think it's because of the texture of avocado is similar to butter. Do note that avocados are densed in nutrients which is rich in vitamin C, E, K, folic acid and potassium. They are low in sugar and salt-free. They have antioxidant, anti-viral and anti-bacteria properties which helps to lower cholesterol. Best of all, avocados contained mono-unsaturated fats to maintain a healthy weight! Do head to Australian Avocado for the detailed health benefits.



We were taught not to simply poke on the avocado with our fingers to check for it's ripeness. One can check the colour chart or by placing the whole avocado on our palm and just squeeze gently to check for firmness as demonstrated by PureGlutton in the photo below.



Next we have Chef Malcolm of Berjaya University College of Hospitality demonstrating to us on how to prepare Avocado Zimbabui, a very simple dish of beef bacon with avocado served with smoked salmon.



Chef Malcolm showed how to remove the peel from avocado and how to slice them for this dish.



We got to sample some avocado inspired dishes prepared by the university college ranging from avocado  salsa dip, salad, pasta, Avocado Zimbabui and guess what... rainbow coloured macarons filled with avocado cream as filling!



We were presented with a fruit basket that of course contained avocados and some other fruits imported by Euro-Atlantic. I will post up some of the ideas on what I did with the fruits and avocado in my next post.

Thanks to Scribe Media for the invite to an afternoon of very educational introduction on avocados.