Tips

The Magnificent Avocado

This tropical treasure, renowned for its smooth, unctuous texture and subtle, ambrosial flavor, is technically a fruit. (In case you were wondering, the name comes from the word for testicle in one of the ancient Central American languages.) Avocados come in a variety of shapes and sizes: The two most popular types are Hass, which has a thicker, darker, rough­-­textured skin, and Fuerte, which has a thinner, greener skin. Like pears, avocados ripen well off the tree. Most of them are grown in California and shipped all over the country. If you need to speed up their ripening, just store them in a paper bag at room temperature for two or three days. Avocados should be cut as close to serving time as possible since they will go dark with exposure to air. You can also sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent discoloration.