The Avocado and it's Controversial Seed

For some reason I got curious about the Avocado seed. It's been months or maybe years since I bought and ate homemade avocado desserts so maybe that's why I got curious about the roundish seed.

This post is my full exploration of the avocado (fruit) seed.

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How it All Began

Some weeks ago I bought three green avocados from the supermarket. It's been years since I bought some so I chose the three in particular because they had moving seeds inside when I shook them. I dunno, somehow I think that if the seed can be shaken, it means it's a good choice to buy. Maybe my mom told me about it or maybe our maid during my childhood days or someone else told me about it, I just don't remember anymore. :P

While I love avocados dearly due to us having a backyard tree of it at the house we used to rent and live in when I was a litle kid, I have never once thought of eating the seed until I saw it again a week or so ago. I got curious, oh so curious. Let's just say maybe I'm at home more often than usual that my scientific and inquisitive mind is finally alive and kicking again.

A Bit of Avocado History

Upon checking Wikipedia, it says this fruit is thought to have originated in Mexico ¹. Etymologically, the word avocado can be traced back from an Aztec word: pa:wa.

A bit of online research shows that there are a lot of avocado varieties out there. I don't know any of the many varieties though, all I know is I like to eat it with milk and sugar or honey. Hahaha.

In the Philippines, the avocado was of course brought here by the Spaniards during the colonization period², some say it was during the late 16th century³ and some more other varieties came from Cuba in 1906 and Florida in 1906 and 1907.⁴ _{Side note: I am not sure if the research paper source of that info was written by the same late Datu Gumbay Piang, a Maguindanao chieftain and war veteran⁵ who fought bravely against the Japanese Occupation in the Philippines.}

As for how it looks like, well it can be shaped like a pear as shown above or it can even look like a weird Cebu (Philippines) variety below, which really seems unique and I am not sure if it is popular there or not. Haha. I've never seen this kind before but now we see the picture.

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The Ripe and Unripe Avocado

How will you know if the avocado is good to eat already? Well for the avocado variety I bought, apparently the darker or purple-y⁶ it is the better. I took out the remaining green avocado from the refrigerator early this week and left it out on the dining table . After a few days it started getting some dark purply colors and voila! It became almost all purple-y and ready to eat!

Think of an eggplant and you'll know it's finally ripe and yummy. How about some eggplant and avocado salad eh? Hahahahaaaaa.

Okay seriously I have eaten a half ripe and green avocado last week and it does not taste good at all. Did you see how green that avocado was in the picture above? Even adding some milk and honey to it had no effect whatsoever. It was half ripe even if the seed was moving inside when I shook it, this means it is not necessarily overripe or ripe if the seed makes clattering sounds upon shaking it.

You'll know it's unripe, even partially if it is kind of hard and solid to the touch before you even cut it and when you eat it, it has a tinge of bitterness. If you cut an unripe fruit, there's some resistance and it won't be as smooth as when you cut a ripe one.

The flesh is also a bit harder to scoop out or square cut with the knife if it has unripe parts. Imagine eating some bitter gourd along with the non-bitter avocado flesh. Hey if you like some bitterness in your food then you're welcome to eat half ripe avocados.

As for the avocado variety I bought, it is a fully ripe avocado if it has a purplish outside color. The ripe flesh will have no hint of bitterness at all and can be easily crushed when mixed with something. It's yummy with milk and honey and is best eaten fresh from the refrigerator so it's cold. Mmmm look at how nice the ripe avocado consistency in the above pic is.

Watch this video if you want some more info on the best way to ripen this fruit.

The Avocado Pit Controversy

Is the seed of the avocado edible or not? Is it good to eat or not? Some say it is nutritious, others add it to their fruit shake for a more healthy drink but what do we know about it so far?

The seed (and other parts of the tree) contains persin which is a natural toxin and a fungicide that's why it can be dangerous to pets and some animals but not to humans. Maybe, but I will blame tasting it for the headache and stomach upset I got the other day which prompted me to do a lot of things just to get rid of the sick feeling.

In March 2016 there was a health craze over eating avocado seeds in powder or non-powder form due to some viral video ⁷ or a certain blog post about it's consumption benefits. This of course prompted all sorts of articles about the safety of eating the seed and some nutritionist⁸ and avocado advocate groups recommended against it.⁹. _{I never knew about this viral thing until today, heck the internet is such a nice place to surf.}

In 2017 the Avocado craze (the fruit and not just the seed eating) was said to have hit Asia.¹⁰ Why I've never heard of it or seen it online ever is a mystery. Maybe because we have avocados easily accessible in the country or most probably because I'm not too much of a health nut and definitely not a vegan.

There have been studies about the seed extract being good for Alzheimer's Disease ¹¹ and beneficial due to its cardiovascular health effects or it having insecticidal, fungicidal, and anti-microbial components ¹². Bear in mind, that is the seed extract and not eating the seed itself as most people claim.

Trivia: Did you know that there is a goldmine of free avocado resources online by the Hofshi Foundation? Hahaha. Amazing!

The seed is said to have more nutrients than the flesh of its fruit. It can be a digestive aid, has anti-tumor or cancer properties, antioxidants, potassium and soluble fiber that can lower cholesterol levels.¹³ Experts say it is still not advisable to consume the seed, excluding the extract of it, as further studies need to be made on it.¹⁴ .

Best Way to Consume Avocado Seeds

The avocado is said to be an ancient medicinal plant. Even here in the Philippines it is considered as such by those who know about it. Perhaps that is why there are people who endorse it as a superfood since it is an ancient medicinal plant used by people or old tribes for years.

Most people use the powdered seed as an addition to smoothies. Do an online search and you will find several ingredients for shakes and smoothies with powder or ground avocado seed in it. Other people suggest to add it to mole sauce or make some tea out of it. A few more ways to use the seed here.

If you roast it though, that's when it is said to be tolerable to eat.¹⁵ Wait let me roast it over the gas stove and I'll get back to you. Lol.

Upon further checking online, someone else already did it and said a roasted seed is still bitter¹⁶ and not suitable to eat, same as I concluded. At someone's suggestion, the same person even boiled it 3 times for 5 minutes each and tasted it, voila it was not as bitter as usual¹⁷ but still gives a bitter aftertaste. Maybe I should waste some more cooking gas and find out myself eh?

So far the seed is only good to include in smoothies or shakes or any other way you prefer so the bitter taste is not noticeable. Do not eat it on it's own unless you like really bitter food.

My Avocado Seed Cooking Experiment

So the other day I did some cooking experiment. Look at my avocado seeds cooking result.

Looks delicious? Oh god no, it tastes awful. If you like drinking beer maybe you will like eating cooked avocado seeds. Ugh. Please do yourself a favor and do not cook or eat it like I did.

Trivia: The avocado contains tannin, a dark red coloring substance that makes it bitter, that's why it turns kinda orange, brown or reddish upon exposure to air/oxygen.

Actually if you've read my previous post about my experiment, I got reddish purple liquid when I boiled the seed in a non-stick pan. I thought it was weird, oh but it was fun to find out about it. Haha. Cooking experiment fail though because I didn't do any research at all when I did it, I just cooked it to find out what it would taste like.

Global Experiments done using Avocado Seed

Because the seed is rich in fiber and is mostly just considered as trash, its starch form has been used in many experiments to find a way to use it instead of it being such a commercial waste.

In 2012, a Mexican innovator, Scott Munguía, created a company that produces biodegradable plastics out of avocado seeds¹⁸. The product is good for a year but has a shelf life of up to four years. In 2015 the Engineering department of an Indonesian University did an experiment on making bioplastics using Avocado seed starch¹⁹ and concluded that bioplastics can indeed be made using avocado seed starch.

We all know the world has a plastic problem right? I'm happy to find out that bioplastics can be made out of avocado seeds among other things.

Trivia: Did you know some people make pendants out of avocado seeds? Cool huh?

Back in 2015 people from a Nigerian University experimented on making candies out of the seed starch²⁰ for it's nutritional value and found it to be good enough.

2016 saw the creation of a natural food coloring company called AvoColor all because of the orange color extracted from the avocado pit. A food scientist, Gregory Ziegler Ph. D., originally started experiments on extracting starch from the avocado seed but eventually due to the persistence of the color coming up, he then focused on the stability of the orange color to be used as a natural food colorant.

In the Philippines, the avocado seed was also experimented on in 2015 at the Batangas State University²¹ and was used as an alternative flour source by the researchers. They concluded that it is a good source of flour but is not suggested to be used on its own to make bread due to it's low protein content and its inability to be made into dough.

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So what now?

You decide if you'd like to eat it but I kinda feel bad for throwing the cooked seeds away. I might have been able to powder it or something however it left a terrible taste in my mouth that I just had to throw it away. Oh what a waste.

I tried nibbling on each of the two seeds cooked separately but alas even if I put vinegar and salt or soy sauce to the slices cooked or after it was cooked, the bitter taste is too strong to taste anything else.

The last seed though, I will probably roast half or 1/4 of it, make a pendant out of it and/or powder the rest. Oh yes I like to experiment. I might share a simple avocado dessert recipe soon too.

Anyway, let's just eat the fruit for goodness' sake and have a happy tummy. Haha.

XOXO,
@artgirl

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Written by @artgirl for Steemit.
© Art x Stephanie Rue

@artgirl is a freelance artist and also a sales person. Currently an agent for resort-type condo communities in Metro Manila.

For any art or property inquiries, you can chat me up on steem.chat or send me a Facebook message. Link in my bio.

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