Author Topic: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?  (Read 20886 times)

BonsaiBeast

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What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« on: January 05, 2018, 11:34:26 PM »
There must surely be rare varieties of avocado with superior flavor to the ubiquitous haas.

ricshaw

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2018, 12:30:06 AM »
There must surely be rare varieties of avocado with superior flavor to the ubiquitous haas.

There are probably several recommendations... but a properly tree ripened Hass Avocado tastes very good IMO.

BonsaiBeast

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2018, 12:33:19 AM »
There must surely be rare varieties of avocado with superior flavor to the ubiquitous haas.

There are probably several recommendations... but a properly tree ripened Hass Avocado tastes very good IMO.

I agree they are very delicious! I'm just curious if there a some little-known, yet superior varieties.

It seems to be the case with mangos, with all these crazy delicious varieties. Why not avocados as well?

RodneyS

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2018, 02:22:03 AM »
Reed
Sharwil

PahoaJo

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2018, 03:19:00 AM »
I haven't tried every variety as there are probably hundreds or thousands, but as far as cultivated varieties, the best kind I have had so far was probably Kahaluu.

fruitlovers

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2018, 03:58:26 AM »
Hawaii best: Kahaluu, Yamagata, Malama. But i think i need to do a side by side taste test to really figure out my favorites and rate them. There are so many great avocado varieties here!
California best: Reed, Pinkerton, Bacon. Had a tree in San Diego i believed to be Bacon variety, and it was really outstanding as well as very prolific producer.
Oscar

Mike T

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2018, 04:10:51 AM »
Reed, Shepard, Sharwil and Hazzard are my favourites and maybe Shepard tastes a little more buttery and rich than the others.

fruitlovers

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2018, 04:25:36 AM »
Sharwil is the most important commercial cultivar here. They are good, but not top tier in my opinion. But best cultivar is going to have a lot to do where they are grown. Maybe the Sharwil reaches perfection in Australian climate and soils, but not here? (Reminds me of the whole Kensington mango conundrum.)
Oscar

Mike T

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2018, 05:07:37 AM »
Oscar I don't know but the KP conundrum is certainly baffling. I judge Avos as according to whether they are better or worse than Hass and most are not as good. Perhaps I was rash including Sharwil and omitting Pinkerton.

Capt Ram

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2018, 06:00:25 AM »
I recently discovered an unnamed tree at a friends home..that's about 60 years old and 50 feet tall, loaded with some of the best tasting avacados I've ever had..I have 10 named cultivars
 avacado trees at my place but this one tops them all..I think better than Hass



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johnb51

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2018, 08:54:47 AM »
I recently discovered an unnamed tree at a friends home..that's about 60 years old and 50 feet tall, loaded with some of the best tasting avacados I've ever had..I have 10 named cultivars
 avacado trees at my place but this one tops them all..I think better than Hass



Wouldn't it be great if someone would graft it onto young rootstock and propagate it?  Is all the fruit blemished like in the photo?
John

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2018, 10:02:43 AM »
I recently discovered an unnamed tree at a friends home..that's about 60 years old and 50 feet tall, loaded with some of the best tasting avacados I've ever had..I have 10 named cultivars
 avacado trees at my place but this one tops them all..I think better than Hass



Wouldn't it be great if someone would graft it onto young rootstock and propagate it?  Is all the fruit blemished like in the photo?




Irma=blemished

In florida the best seem to be malama,{fuerte} but does have uneven rippeing,ettinger have not tried talpana and jose antonio,kampong is pretty good nishikawa avocado is very good,day and lula  good.

Bush2Beach

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2018, 11:41:17 AM »
Jan Boyce and Reed.

JF

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #13 on: January 06, 2018, 12:32:51 PM »
No West Indian avocado comes close to Hass in taste and production. The one above looks like yr typical WI.
5 year Hass properly prune with hundreds of fruits


Jack, Nipomo

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2018, 06:42:27 PM »
Here on the central coast, several are excellent (besides Hass).  Jan Boyce, Stewart, Pinkerton, Edranol, and Hellen (2 L's).  Looks like a good year this year after last year's rains.  Hopefully more to come this year.

Ulfr

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #15 on: January 06, 2018, 08:44:59 PM »
No West Indian avocado comes close to Hass in taste and production. The one above looks like yr typical WI.
5 year Hass properly prune with hundreds of fruits


Great tree JF. Curious what size properly pruned avos are kept at?
« Last Edit: January 06, 2018, 08:57:43 PM by Ulfr »

marklee

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #16 on: January 06, 2018, 11:36:14 PM »
Jan Boyce for me.

barath

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #17 on: January 07, 2018, 12:51:58 AM »
Gwen is probably my favorite, though there are others that I've tasted that have been similarly excellent (but are not in circulation) such as some unnamed varieties Julie Frink has and some Hawaiian ones that Ken Love has.  I think there are probably quite a few top-tier tasting avocados out there, many of which aren't really widely distributed.

Mark in Texas

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #18 on: January 07, 2018, 10:32:22 AM »
Wow, is this subjective.  What makes the perfect avocado fruit (not tree)?  For me it has to have an easy to peel skin or better still a shell to spoon out of (like Reed), small seed, high oil - rich, creamy, buttery.  Reed is considered by many to be the best in the states.  Mine are ready and excellent after hanging for 14 months up to 18. 

Another bonus is that the meat doesn't brown when cut.  I recently threw the 2nd half of a Sir Prize into a baggie and the next day it didn't have a smidgeon of brown on it.  Spaugh, you were right.





The only really good Hass we've had are those from Morro Creek Avocado ranch.  I can't remember when I've had a really good Hass.  The ones we're getting now are awful.

Barath, I have Gwen fruit hanging now and have trouble regarding when to harvest it.  Apparently it needs more than 12 mos. ?  Hard to beat the tree for a true runt, a dwarf.  Mine is a good 6 years old and no bigger than 4' H X 6' W.

Greg A

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #19 on: January 07, 2018, 11:27:43 AM »
Totally agree that this is so subjective.

A month or so ago, I found myself surprised to find that when I ate a Bacon side by side with a Hass, I slightly preferred the Bacon. Of course, Bacon's season was about prime then while Hass's prime taste will not come for a couple more months (in my yard in San Diego County). And I find Hass to taste awesome at the right time, as good as any other avocado I know.

I sometimes think Fuerte is my favorite, but it's not perfect. Sometimes it has a few fibers, the seed is on the large side, and sometimes the seed coat doesn't adhere to the seed. But dang it tastes so rich just to the right level for me.

Reed is hard to beat in almost every category. And the productivity blows most varieties away.

If you're just thinking of flavor, you might say Jan Boyce, for example. But it's not perfect as it doesn't peel as well as Hass does.

And how about Pinkerton?! Tastes great to me, plus its seed is tiny so you get so much flesh.

About when to harvest Gwen: it might help to refer to the release dates that the Cal. Dept. of Food and Ag. issues for commercial farmers. URL: http://www.californiaavocadogrowers.com/sites/default/files/documents/Avocado-Maturity-Release-2017-2018.pdf

For Gwen, smalls can be picked starting April 3. I find it helpful to compare the release dates to other varieties I have. So, you might compare the Gwen release date to Hass (Jan. 16) or Lamb (July 17) just to give you the idea that Gwen is predicted to be mature some three months after Hass but three months before Lamb. It's just a prediction on their part, but I think it's useful all the same.
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Mark in Texas

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #20 on: January 07, 2018, 11:50:41 AM »
Thanks for the info Greg.  With our cooler weather dates are totally different than other states.  Reason why I asked about Gwen is based on critique of cados in the San Jose area and I quote - "Gwen: An "awesome avocado you don't see sold anymore. Those lucky enough to have a Gwen tree will appreciate the small tidy tree size, great flavor better than Hass if left to ripen the full 16-plus months it needs, productivity if you've got several other avocados that aren't Hass to pollinate it."  If I had more room I'd love to try a GEM.  Love Pinkerton and will soon graft a stick off my Frankencado onto a vigorous Oro Negro rootstock.  It's being run over by the vigor of its brothers - Holiday, Sir Prize, and Ardith. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/general-news/20100501/sharon-hull-this-week-in-the-garden-settling-the-avocado-question-once-and-for-all

Forgot about fiber which I hate.  So far none have it. 

Small seeds are really nice - Sharwil, Pinkerton, Sir Prize.

johnb51

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #21 on: January 07, 2018, 05:52:38 PM »
How is Greengold, which is a seedling of Sharwil?  Carlos was growing it, but we haven't heard from him since Hurricane Irma, which did a lot of damage to (devastated?) his grove.  It seemed like it might have potential for Florida.  Otherwise, what's the BEST TASTING AVOCADO FOR FLORIDA?  Pinkerton?
John

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #22 on: January 07, 2018, 08:54:07 PM »
Dupuis!

barath

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #23 on: January 07, 2018, 10:52:12 PM »
Barath, I have Gwen fruit hanging now and have trouble regarding when to harvest it.  Apparently it needs more than 12 mos. ?  Hard to beat the tree for a true runt, a dwarf.  Mine is a good 6 years old and no bigger than 4' H X 6' W.

Around here I think folks often leave Gwen on the tree for almost 18 months, but you probably get more growing heat through the year and it'll be shorter for you.

fruitlovers

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Re: What is the best tasting avocado variety you have had?
« Reply #24 on: January 08, 2018, 12:03:19 AM »
How is Greengold, which is a seedling of Sharwil?  Carlos was growing it, but we haven't heard from him since Hurricane Irma, which did a lot of damage to (devastated?) his grove.  It seemed like it might have potential for Florida.  Otherwise, what's the BEST TASTING AVOCADO FOR FLORIDA?  Pinkerton?
Green gold is quite good...similar in quality to Sharwil.
Oscar