Where this fruit is grown and how to ripen it to get that vibrant green colour, when sliced.

If you’ve gone to larger chain grocery stores to buy avocados, it’s very likely that they were imported from Mexico. It’s also likely that you’ve also purchased  avocados imported from Peru, depending on the time of year. 

Peru is the second largest exporter of avocados in the world, after Mexico.The country produced over 400,000 metric tonnes (MT) in 2020. 

The reason why Peruvian avocados have gained popularity is because of their seasonality, which is from May - August. This coincides with Mexico’s peak seasonality which is from August- May. 

Not only is Peru capable of supplying the fruit during the off-season for larger exporters, but their avocados are also delicious. 

The reason why we use avocados in our menu is because of their origin, flavours and health benefits. 

Avocado has subtle nutty flavours that taste great spread on toast or emulsified as a sauce. Our Andean Roasted Potato Bowl uses avocado in the dressing, combined with maca. We call this theDouble Avocado Maca Dressing. You can also try ourKiwicha Avo Toast, topped with cacao nibs, salsa criolla and kiwicha. 

Even though avocados have become a popular staple in the kitchen, it’s nearly impossible to find ripe avocados - especially in the winter time. 

You either have to go to a local produce shop to find them, which is a gamble.  Or, you have to take a chance and buy the rock hard grocery store avocados with the hopes they’ll ripen in a day or two. 

If you’ve craved avocado toast but all you had were rock hard avocados, then you’ve definitely tried to shortcut your way to ripening them in the oven - and of course, the end result was a mushy, flavourless avocado. 

Avocados on average take 4- 7 days to ripen, which is far too time when you have a craving.

The best way to speed up the ripening process is to store your avocados in a paper bag in a dark place. Wrapping them in newspaper also works. This cuts the ripening time in half. 

While stored in the paper bag, the gaseous hormone, ethylene is released and triggers the ripening process. You can also add bananas to the brown bag to release more or the hormone to speed up the ripening process. 

After storing the fruit for  2-4 days in the brown paper bag, you’ll have a perfectly ripe avocado that’s the perfect vibrant green when sliced, ready to be mashed for avocado toast.