IS ANYONE interested in picking up a few avocado seeds for planting in their backyards? We have a tree, and in the last fruiting season ended up with a few dozen seeds which anyone could have for the asking.
The avocado is a kind of exotic fruit in Goa, and most don't know about it. While talking about this tree, I'd like to remember my elderly neighbour, the late Aunty Peggy (Mascarenhas), who like many an elderly Goan had green fingers and loved planting. She was responsible for this tree coming up too. And I'll always regret not interviewing her in depth, given that she was a virtual walking library, with a whole lot of information about the village life, how things were, and what not. Coming back to avocados, I initially had to hunt around for information about this fruit. The Internet was useful, and an Indian scientist based in the US (Asit K Ghosh) who has a strong interest in various plants, was helpful. See his explantory note below. Later we realised that while locals didn't have a clue about eating the fruit, those who had been in Africa in the past -- the Africanders -- had sometimes inclcated a taste for the fruit. (I once even got a call at 10 pm asking for it.) Anyway, if you'd like to try planting two or three seeds in your place, just come over and ask. These seeds seem to have no great difficulty for growing in local soil. FN >From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Aug 18 23:35:54 2003 Dear Ms. Parikh & Fred The following information should be of some help to you. If not, please let me know. -------------------------------------------------------- Avocados are bitter until they are ripe. You can tell when they are ripe by slightly squeezing the fruit with your thumb and forefinger. If the fruit is hard, it is not ripe. If the peel gives a little and bounces back, like a tennis ball, it needs another day. If you can feel the flesh give under the peel, sort of like a slightly warm cream cheese, it is ripe. The flesh should be soft and easily cut with a spoon. Scoop out any dark areas. Some brown streaking may be visible. Small streaks are not a problem, other than not looking as appetizing as pure green flesh. During the ripening process the peel will change color, becoming lighter or darker, depending on the variety. If the peel is black, the fruit is more than likely overripe. ---------------------------------------------------- The simplest way to eat Avocado is to cut a ripe fruit open, sprinkle it with seasoning salt . Then sprinkle a little lime or lemon juice in the center along with a dash of hot sauce. If you want a richer flavor add some flavorful olive oil. Mix the liquid into the flesh with a fork, scoop it out with a spoon and enjoy. ---------------------------------------------------- RECIPE (1) Carnegie-Mellon University~Rs Computer Science Dept. has a Avocado Recipe Archive at http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/vegetables/avocado-coll.html with the following Recipes, Berried Avocado Grapefruit Salad Strawberry Avocado Parfait Avocado 'N Everything Pizza Prosciutto/Salmon Wraps Party Dip Vegetable Pick-Ups Avocado Sorbet Melons with Sweet Avocado Dip Safari Sandwich Tropical Compote Fruited Rice Salad on the Half Chicken Waldorf Pitas with Curried Yogurt Sauce Spaghetti Squash and Avocado Salad Crab and Avocado Melts Turkey Curry Bombay Confetti Chicken Salad Pesto Avocado Torta Avocado Mousse Melba Spicy Nachos Supreme Classic Guacamole Avocado Salmon Sandwich (2) There are 153 Avocado Recipes from BETTER HOMES & GARDEN Magazine at http://ww5.bhg.com/bhg/recipe/?ordersrc=g2 Good luck. Asit K. Ghosh Rockledge, Florida, USA ====================================================== -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Frederick Noronha 784 Near Convent, Sonarbhat, SALIGAO, GOA India Freelance Journalist TEL: +91-832-2409490 MOBILE: 9822122436 http://fn.swiki.net http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks fred at bytesforall.org http://www.bytesforall.org =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--W-E-B--S-I-T-E--=-=-=-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from Saligaonet | http://www.goacom.com/saligao_tinto/ ============================================================================ * Send e=mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] (NOT [EMAIL PROTECTED]) * Leave SUBJECT blank <--- Commom Mistake !! * On first line of the BODY of your message, type: subscribe saligaonet YOUR.EMAIL OR unsubscribe saligaonet YOUR.EMAIL Questions/Problems? Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
