Author Topic: What is the best tasting avocado variety?  (Read 7359 times)

tropical_rag_g-fruitforum

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #50 on: October 05, 2023, 12:47:31 PM »
Here's a long video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL8519OHFOQ&t=1s

From the video - recommended Avocado: Simmonds, Dupuis, Day, Catalina, Maria black, Lara Pollock, Miguel, Oro Negro, Kampong, Ronnie.

I went with  Ronnie, Simmonds, Day, Brogdan and Oro Negro to hopefully have Avocados for most months of the year.




johnb51

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #51 on: October 06, 2023, 10:48:19 AM »
Here's a long video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL8519OHFOQ&t=1s

From the video - recommended Avocado: Simmonds, Dupuis, Day, Catalina, Maria black, Lara Pollock, Miguel, Oro Negro, Kampong, Ronnie.

I went with  Ronnie, Simmonds, Day, Brogdan and Oro Negro to hopefully have Avocados for most months of the year.
I've yet to taste a good Day avocado (after several attempts).  It grows terrible, too.  I tried twice--one of the few trees I've been unsuccessful growing.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2023, 05:27:29 PM by johnb51 »
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Avoman

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #52 on: October 09, 2023, 11:49:53 AM »
Fuerte is best tasting overall, for mild bacon is best, zutano also has high marks for mild non- nutty not over rich taste.As far as commercial goes I've seen gem beat out Hass on blind taste test.never had a sharwil or Nabal but many seem to rate thoughs high.

Avoman

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #53 on: October 09, 2023, 12:01:22 PM »
Epicenter did a blind taste test with many types Ardith won overall, I hardy hear of many growing Ardith, the one I really want to try the most is cannonball or monster as some call it , its very large with very thick skin , I want to also try Marcus  Pumpkin but seems very few are growing it yet in Cali.

Bush2Beach

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #54 on: October 09, 2023, 01:26:22 PM »
Taste is so subjective.
Those are my bottom 3 of around 30 varieties I have tried.
speechless.  buy some Sharwil's from Brad in season.




Fuerte is best tasting overall, for mild bacon is best, zutano also has high marks for mild non- nutty not over rich taste.As far as commercial goes I've seen gem beat out Hass on blind taste test.never had a sharwil or Nabal but many seem to rate thoughs high.

drymifolia

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #55 on: October 09, 2023, 01:50:51 PM »
Taste is so subjective.
Those are my bottom 3 of around 30 varieties I have tried.
speechless.  buy some Sharwil's from Brad in season.

Sharwil is a very mild flavor, Fuerte has an almost intense nutty taste that I've never tasted to the same extent in any other avocado. It's my favorite for flavor, though the texture is only OK and they seem to have a narrow window when they are perfectly ripe. Greg Alder (who has probably tried almost as many different avocado varieties as anyone on here) says Fuerte is his favorite, too:

Quote
I used to think that I was alone in still finding the Fuerte a notch tastier compared to all of the other excellent avocados available in the year 2020. Yet I continue to meet people like Jan, the farmer from South Africa, who have eaten many kinds of avocados and also still find the taste of Fuerte unsurpassed. Writes Gary Bender in Avocado Production in California, “The Fuerte is still thought by many in the avocado industry to be the best tasting.”

Here's the blog post that quote comes from:

https://gregalder.com/yardposts/the-fuerte-avocado-tree-a-profile/


johnb51

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #56 on: October 09, 2023, 07:54:40 PM »
A good Fuerte is hard to beat!  :)
John

Greg A

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #57 on: October 09, 2023, 11:27:03 PM »
Yeah, a good Fuerte is hard to beat. Every January or so, when the Fuertes start tasting good, I eat one and say to myself: "How could it taste better than this?"

But here in October, I'm a long way from having tasted a Fuerte and lately I've been eating Gwens and saying to myself: "How could it taste better than this?"

It's really hard to judge the taste of one avocado variety against another because of their different seasons. A few years ago at Brad's place a large group tasted a dozen or more varieties side by side in May. Nobody liked Reed much; some people liked Bacon the most. That's because the tasting was done in May, of course, and Reed was immature while Bacon was as good as it ever gets.

I think it's not too hard to settle on a group of favorites though. That said, when I think of my favorites I don't think of taste alone but also the other characteristics that go into enjoying the whole eating experience.

Is it easy to tell when it's ripe? (Fuerte yes; Lamb not as easy)
Does the peel leave grit in the flesh when you cut it open? (Hass no; GEM yes)
How's the size? (Gwen perfect; Nabal too big; Mexicola too small)
Is the seed good? (Don GIllogly has an annoying pointy tip; Edranol seed often holds onto chunks of flesh)
Is there fiber? (Zutano sometimes; Reed never)
Does it peel? (Jan Boyce rarely; Sharwil nicely)
Does my spoon go through the skin because the skin is too thin and weak? (Bacon yes; GEM no)
How fast does it brown once cut open? (Sir-Prize slowly; Nimlioh slowly; Hass faster)

What other eating qualities do you guys appreciate in an avocado? Or which qualities annoy you?
gregalder.com/yardposts/

johnb51

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #58 on: October 10, 2023, 09:12:26 AM »
Thank you, Greg!  Even Florida avocados can be very good when grown well and ripened properly.  But how you eat them or use them might be a little different.  Maybe not guacamole or avocado toast!
« Last Edit: October 10, 2023, 10:17:34 AM by johnb51 »
John

Bush2Beach

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #59 on: October 10, 2023, 04:11:09 PM »
good points Greg. I would add How long does it keep ? to , How fast does it brown? . Some keep less than a day after cut, but some will be brown where it oxidized and is fine for days if you leave it and slice the oxidized part off when your ready.
Another knock on these nor cal Bacon's is they Brown in 5 minutes and are no good the next day.

acknowledging the stringiness or fiber of a Zutano, how could it rate that highly, flavor would have to be so good it over ruled the fiber.
I think fiber'y mango's end up in the crap category for this reason.

drymifolia

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #60 on: October 10, 2023, 05:04:33 PM »
acknowledging the stringiness or fiber of a Zutano, how could it rate that highly, flavor would have to be so good it over ruled the fiber.
I think fiber'y mango's end up in the crap category for this reason.

Fiber problems in avocados seem to be less consistent, maybe triggered by environmental differences or something? Some usually fiberless cultivars can occasionally have bad fiber, though others seem to always be fiber free. I've only eaten a few dozen GEMs, for example, and most of them had no fiber, but a few had slight but noticeable fiber, and one of them was full of stringy fiber. Which, combined with the gritty skin made GEM drop a few notches down my list of favorites, even though the other ones were pretty good.

Greater Good

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #61 on: October 14, 2023, 02:34:39 AM »
Here's a long video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL8519OHFOQ&t=1s

From the video - recommended Avocado: Simmonds, Dupuis, Day, Catalina, Maria black, Lara Pollock, Miguel, Oro Negro, Kampong, Ronnie.

I went with  Ronnie, Simmonds, Day, Brogdan and Oro Negro to hopefully have Avocados for most months of the year.

You've done your research, that is a very nice selection of varieties. You'll be close to having avocados year round.

gnappi

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #62 on: October 14, 2023, 04:21:05 PM »
It depends on your tongue :-)

I like Lula.
Regards,

   Gary

johnb51

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #63 on: October 15, 2023, 10:24:14 AM »
It depends on your tongue :-)

I like Lula.
Big seed.  Gritty, hard skin.  But for a Florida avocado, the texture is dense and the flavor very good.  I like 'em, too!  Do you find they're alternate bearing?  Last year the huge old tree had tons and tons, which lasted several months.  This year not a one!
« Last Edit: October 15, 2023, 10:26:09 AM by johnb51 »
John

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #64 on: February 25, 2024, 04:37:53 AM »









Looks like this Pollock is very happy

johnb51

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #65 on: February 25, 2024, 12:48:32 PM »









Looks like this Pollock is very happy
Beautiful tree.  Congrats.  Last year we planted Pollock also at relative's home in Port St. Lucie.  The buds are swelling on my six-ft. young Simmonds tree.
John

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety?
« Reply #66 on: February 25, 2024, 02:58:48 PM »
Here’s my way to judge the best avocados. Best tasting isn’t the right question because so many taste similar. So you need a different way of thinking about it.
I’m in 10a and can grow any type. The categories for me are:
Guatemalan, Guatemalan x Mexican, Mexican, Guatemalan x West Indian
Most people consider Guatemalan the best tasting. If you don’t get below 30F then you can grow anything and should grow a Guatemalan or Hass type that does well in your area. Nabal, Jan Boyce, Reed are not different enough to pick one solely based on flavor. But Reed stands out as being fast growing and productive.
The next tier down is 25F range. Bacon and Zutano are reliable and taste good if left on the tree about 2 months longer than most people pick them. There are a lot of options in this cold hardiness range. Many claim to be like a Hass but of course they are a notch down.
The Mexicans are super cold hardy and grow very fast here. I like to see things happening quickly but I haven’t tasted them yet. I have Mexicola, Duke, Aravaipa and some others.
The Guatemalan / West Indian I have are Lula, Marcus Pumpkin. The West Indian genetics make them grow fast but mixed reviews on taste. I’m not sure there is a good argument to make for these in California.

I think it’s really best to make these groupings and assess how an avocado compares to others in its class. I would start with your hardiness bracket and pick a good tasting and productive type in that group.