All of the avacados that I have seen in Arizona this week were from Chile. I did not see one of a quality that I wanted to purchase.

Two years ago, you could not find a Persian lime on the market. Now you see as many key limes as Persian limes in a market that you would never see key limes.

In another month or so, citrus will be readily available (and largely free from friends).

AVOCADO UPDATE:

( From Midwest Produce)

Hello

The good news the strike is over. The bad news is that the market is flushed with green avocados. We expect to see this for the rest of the week. Hopefully by early next week, the market will subside and be back to normal ripeness. Will keep you posted as updates become available. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Great to hear, thanks for the update!

Mexican Avacados, Woodman's $1.69!
Was going to try some but passed on the price.-Richard

I happened to notice something I had never seen before...avocado toast. I saw it for the first time while watching a British program and the interviewee was making it as she talked. No mention of what it was but it was obvious. Then, merely a few days later, I saw it mentioned in November's issue of Los Angeles Magazine (the counterpart to Chicago Magazine) in an article entitled' The Fawning Over Avocado Toast'. Basically it touted that this combination as the 'new pumpkin spice latte' that has rocked social media feeds, restaurant menus and even one's dreams. Gwyneth Paltrow is on board as well. I wonder if this has impacted the price as well.

Elfin wrote:I happened to notice something I had never seen before...avocado toast. I saw it for the first time while watching a British program and the interviewee was making it as she talked. No mention of what it was but it was obvious. Then, merely a few days later, I saw it mentioned in November's issue of Los Angeles Magazine (the counterpart to Chicago Magazine) in an article entitled' The Fawning Over Avocado Toast'. Basically it touted that this combination as the 'new pumpkin spice latte' that has rocked social media feeds, restaurant menus and even one's dreams. Gwyneth Paltrow is on board as well. I wonder if this has impacted the price as well.

Was that a November 2014 issue because 2016 is a little late to take note of avocado toast in LA. I was at Sopraffina the other day getting a sandwich and they were advertising their avocado toast. If it made it Sopraffina then it's likely jumped the shark.

On toast has been my favorite way to eat avocadoes for 20 years (second favorite way, slices splayed out on a plate with olive oil and salt, ensalada de palta, fond memories of Chile, sigh, can you imagine in the US getting a plate full of ripe avocado for the same nominal price as a side salad of iceberg lettuce?). But I'd say too it was only during this past summer that I noticed avocado on toast becoming a frequently mentioned thing on RSS feeds I subscribe to.

How did we get to peak avocado toast - or how the avocado became the Oprah of Instagram

(tl;dr - Blame Australia? It probably started really going on menus in the US ~ 2005, but it got to its out of control state in 2014)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... ado-toast/

http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/06/biggest ... agram.html

https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/ ... cado-toast

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/avocado ... d=25216095

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/1 ... 58847.html

http://www.thekitchn.com/11-easy-ways-t ... ast-219143

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/avocado-toast/

Avocado toast is so over. Even The Casino Club serves it now.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Avocado toast is so over. Even The Casino Club serves it now.

LOL. Banner quote.

It was the 2016 Los Angeles magazine.

For some reason, the organic avacados have been cheaper than the non-organic at Mariano's in Northbrook for at least 6 weeks.

Hi,

Just saw that World Fresh Market at 2434 w Devon(Devon & Kedzie) has Hass avocados priced at 2/$1!

Not seeing the price come down in the burbs yet - most recent trips to Jewel and Mariano's still show them at $2.50 ea, but at least we're getting ripe ones now.

Tbh I didn't go inside and see the actual size of the 2/$1 avocados. They could have been the tiny ones, which I've seen at WFM before... Still, 50 cents ain't bad.

If you could decide, would you choose avocados or monarch butterflies? http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/world ... -home.html

Anyone else notice the new practice of grocery stores labeling regular size avocados some version of "extra large" and selling them for $2-$2.50 a piece?

I understand why they're more expensive but it's funny how obvious this marketing ploy is.

The really small ones are more common now too. They are about half as big as 'normal' size avocados and usually cost around $1 (or less), which used to be the standard price for the bigger ones - back before the drought shortage. I've found these smaller versions to have an undesirable slimy texture and typically avoid them.

All I can find are Avocados from Mexico.
The larger 'Florida' type I believe are from Guatemala and lately of terrible quality.
Where can I source California grown Avocados?-Richard

I've had fairly decent luck with the Mexican ones at Costco (was under $6/bag of 6 and are now $8) - but the last batch I got stayed small/green/hard for 2 weeks. One of them was edible, 4 hit the compost bin and the one remaining has sat in the window for an additional 4 days with no change.

stoutisgoodfood wrote:the last batch I got stayed small/green/hard for 2 weeks. One of them was edible, 4 hit the compost bin and the one remaining has sat in the window for an additional 4 days with no change.

For purposes of accelerating ripening I use a paper bag. It ripens avocados at almost twice the pace of anywhere else, in my experience. It's very useful in being able to pace the ripeness.

As far as pricing/size, I haven't noticed that tactic, and the price has been steadily at $1.50-1.75 for non-organic at Whole Foods. They only carry organic & non-organic, no size distinction. I would gladly purchase them at the Farmers Market (I go to Evanston & occasionally Wilmette on Saturday mornings), but there's no local production I'm aware of.

bweiny wrote:

stoutisgoodfood wrote:the last batch I got stayed small/green/hard for 2 weeks. One of them was edible, 4 hit the compost bin and the one remaining has sat in the window for an additional 4 days with no change.

For purposes of accelerating ripening I use a paper bag. It ripens avocados at almost twice the pace of anywhere else, in my experience. It's very useful in being able to pace the ripeness.

As far as pricing/size, I haven't noticed that tactic, and the price has been steadily at $1.50-1.75 for non-organic at Whole Foods. They only carry organic & non-organic, no size distinction. I would gladly purchase them at the Farmers Market (I go to Evanston & occasionally Wilmette on Saturday mornings), but there's no local production I'm aware of.

I've seen the pricing/labelling tactic I mentioned at Fresh Farms, Cermak Produce, and World Fresh Market, as well as at one of the larger Indian grocery stores on Devon (these are all somewhat near each other in Rogers Park, except for Fresh Farms in Niles).

bnowell724 wrote:I've seen the pricing/labelling tactic I mentioned at Fresh Farms, Cermak Produce, and World Fresh Market, as well as at one of the larger Indian grocery stores on Devon (these are all somewhat near each other in Rogers Park, except for Fresh Farms in Niles).

You're right. I forgot that I ran into a place on Devon next to Anmol recently and they did have 2 options, as you describe.

I have also done the paper bag thing, but added an apple and keep it on your counter. Once the avocado is cut, then store it in a container with a cut onion, which keeps it from browning, it actually works!

bweiny wrote:For purposes of accelerating ripening I use a paper bag. It ripens avocados at almost twice the pace of anywhere else, in my experience. It's very useful in being able to pace the ripeness.

For purposes of ripening, it helps to add a banana to the paper bag.

excelsior wrote: Once the avocado is cut, then store it in a container with a cut onion, which keeps it from browning, it actually works!

Thanks for the tip!

I go through about a bag (6) per week and it's always been pretty foolproof to get them to ripen on their own and work through them as they do. Once they are mostly ripe, storing them in the fridge will hold them an extra couple days. This is the first time I have seen ones that refuse to ripen - rock hard and bright green for weeks, can't get the skin off or release from the pit, no flavor or texture.

deesher wrote:

bweiny wrote:For purposes of accelerating ripening I use a paper bag. It ripens avocados at almost twice the pace of anywhere else, in my experience. It's very useful in being able to pace the ripeness.

For purposes of ripening, it helps to add a banana to the paper bag.

Apples or tomatoes also work. The point is to have something emitting ethylene gas, which all 3 of these fruits do. Bananas produce the most but also (typically) have the shortest shelf life whereas (most) apples can last long enough to be used for multiple avocado ripening cycles.