from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
The avocado pear.
Photograph courtesy of Agromonitor
Agricultura.
www.flickr.com/photos/bioproduct/367245894/
Avocat – The avocado pear, the alligator pear.
Like many other fruits, the avocado is treated and served as a vegetable while it is technically a fruit. However, I believe I am part of that silent majority who cares little about the technical differences between fruits and vegetables. All we need to know is that the avocado tastes good and came to Europe from the New World with the returning conquistadors.
Avocado toast
Photograph courtesy
of Kjokkenutstyr Net
www.flickr.com/photos/146966953@N02/29470913426/
Making sure your avocado is correctly served.
Properly ripened, the meat of an avocado will be pale green, slightly soft, just beginning to be spreadable. If the meat in the pear is really hard, then it is not ripe. If the pear is no longer a pale green but instead a brownish color, it has been cut open and left to stand for too long. In either of the two cases noted here, send it back and ask for a fresh, ripe avocado. The skin is always inedible. The avocado will be served in many French restaurants without the skin, which many French diners prefer.
How avocados may be served in France:
Avocat au Crabe – A dish of avocado served with crab meat; this may be served with just lemon and pepper. Some restaurants may serve this dish with fresh mayonnaise or a Sauce Rosé mixed in or on the side.
Avocat Crevette – Half an avocado filled with shrimp. Usually served with a sauce Marie Rosé; the French cocktail sauce is made with fresh mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, Tabasco, and sometimes a drop of Cognac or Armagnac. French cocktail sauce is very different from that served in the USA. The USA's very spicy sauce comes with horseradish that disguises the taste of the shrimps and leaves just the texture. You will enjoy the French cocktail sauce.
Avocado Vinaigrette – Avocado; usually a half avocado served in its skin, with a vinaigrette dressing.
Cocktail de Crabe et Avocat - A crab meat and avocado cocktail. (For how seafood cocktails ended up on French menus, click here).
Avocado and crab cocktail.
Photograph courtesy of
California Avocados.
www.flickr.com/photos/californiaavocados/6142332366/
Salade Andalouse: Salade
Verte, Tomates,
Concombres, Poivrons, Avocats, Cœur de Palmier, Cœur d’artichaut,
Anchois,
Olives - Avocado will be part of many salads.
This French composition of an Andalusian salad includes a green
salad accompanied by tomatoes,
cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, avocado, hearts of palm, artichokes,
anchovies,
and olives.
Avocado, spinach, and shrimp salad.
Photograph courtesy of Marco
Verch
www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/46339100912/
Tartare d'Avocat et Homard a la Mangue - A Tartar of avocado and lobster meat flavored with mango.
The avocado pear is not related to the pear.
The original strains of avocado looked pear-shaped, but today's hybrid avocados come in a variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and some come without pits. Certain types of avocados may be considered more intensely flavored than others. Still, it will require a real avocado connoisseur to tell the difference on the table with a sauce or vinaigrette dressing.
The avocado, a gift from the New World.
The avocado originated in Central or South America and was cultivated by the Aztecs, called the fruit ahuacatl. Now, ahuacatl is a relatively tricky tongue twister for most Europeans. Though they attempted to use the original name, it became avocado pear or alligator pair in English. The English name alligator pearls come from the color and rough surfaces on the outside of some avocado species. Its French name avocat also means an attorney in French; would you like to halve your attorney for lunch?
Consider where all those great French, Italian, and other Old World dishes would be without the New World and its avocados, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, chilies, pineapples, guavas, chocolate, and much more. The New World fruits and vegetables, including the avocado, are among the most important staples in our diet.
Growing your own avocado needs patience.
Many people, including myself, have taken the Avocado seed, the
pit, and grown avocado seedlings atop a glass jar; the seedling and roots will
appear within two to three weeks. Most of us go no further than growing the
seedling. However, if replanted and the climate is suitable, these seedlings
will become fruit-bearing trees in 4 -6 years.
The fruits of your labors.www.flickr.com/photos/75079439@N05/7726942294/
French homeopathic medicine.
Avocados, especially their leaves, are part of French homeopathic medicine. They will sell dried leaves for a tisane, a fruit tea. They are on sale in France's many homeopathic pharmacies. When in France, you see a pharmacy with a green sign that is a homeopathic pharmacy. The fruit itself is recommended for Vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B5, and B6, and iron.
Do not feed avocado to your pet.
It has been clinically proven that avocado and its skin is poisonous for most animals. The animals include dogs, cats, parakeets, and horses. Consumption of avocado by most animals can kill them.
Avocado in the languages of France's neighbors:
(Catalan – alvocat), (Dutch – avocado), (German – avocado or alligatorbirne), (Italian – avocado), (Spanish - aguacate or palta).
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Had no idea about the leaves being used for medicine in France! Super interesting. Thanks for sharing.
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