Avocado Varieties and Their Fat Content

Just as avocados are loaded with nutrition, so are their varieties come in thousands. Did you know? There are more than a thousand avocado varieties worldwide, including their hybrids. Yes, they are tha many! Let’s identify some of them and know how much fat they contain.

Not all avocados are created equal. Some of them are small, while others are large. They also come in different shapes and colors. Their fat content, too, is variable. Obviously, the only constant element in an avocado is its nutrition profile.

The Horticultural Races of Avocado

Now, let’s begin with why they are different from one another. To unravel the “inequality” of avocados, let’s talk about the pollination behavior of its flowers. Yes, pollination has something to do with it.

Avocados are classified into three horticultural races, namely

1. Mexican (Persea americana variety drymifolia)

The drymifolia horticultural race is native to the highland of Mexico and to the Andes in Chile. It’s the oldest variety used as food. Among the varieties that come under the Mexican race are some of the hardest cultivars like the Duke, Mexicola, and Zutano.

Generally, the fruits of the drymifolia variety are small. And their skin is thin to membranous. They contain up to 30% monounsaturated fats.

2. Guatemalan (Persea americana variety guatemalensis)

The guatemalensis variety is native to the highlands of Central America, Ecuador, and Mexico. Cultivars of this race bear large fruits with rough, usually thick and leathery to woody skin. Their fruits mature in 9 to 14 months.

One of the more popular guatemalensis race grown in California is the Hass variety. A Hass is easily recognized for its thick, black, and rough-skinned fruit. Generally, a Guatemalan avocado contains 7.5% to 18% monounsaturated fats.

3. West Indian (Persea americana variety americana)

On the other hand, the West Indian horticultural race is native to the lowlands of Central and South America. This race was only introduced into the West Indies. The cultivation of the West Indian avocado is limited to southern Florida and the Hawaiian Island in the United States.

Quite sensitive to cold, the americana variety is characterized by large, smooth, and shiny-skinned fruits. Generally the fruits come in pulp milk to watery texture.

Compared with the two other horticultural races, the West Indian avocados contain less fat. Its monounsaturated oil is at 5 - 7% only. Because of this, West Indian avocados are often marketed as the “lite” avocados with fewer calories.

Categorization of Avocado Varieties

A mature avocado tree produces more than a million flowers. But, most of these flowers just fall without producing fruit. Only about 100 - 200 flowers develop into fruits. The reason for the mass flowering is to encourage visits from pollen organism, like flying and crawling insects.

Moreover, avocados have a “complete” flower factor. This means its flower is partially self-pollinating, through a process called “protogynous dichogamy”. Each avocado flower consists of both functional male and female organs. These organs open and close twice over a two-day period. And, here is the categorization that comes in. They are categorized as either A-Type, or B-Type. This categorization is based on the fruit’s pollination and flowering behaviors that is largely influenced by temperature, particularly cold weather.

On one hand, the A-Type avocado flowers open in the morning. First it opens as a functionally female. Then, they close. And, they reopen the next afternoon as a functionally male.

On the other hand, the B-Type flowers open in the afternoon, first as a functionally female. Then, they close and reopen the next morning as a functionally male.

The timing of these stages, therefore, determines the categories of the avocado varieties.

Now, how do we identify the category of the avocado we pick from the supermarket shelf? Whether it’s for curiosity’s sake or otherwise, it’s good to learn a little bit more about the fruit.

The A-Type Cultivars

Let’s familiarize on the avocado varieties sold in our favorite supermarkets. We begin with the A-Type cultivars.

Alboyce

Developed from a Hass open-pollinated seedling, the Alboyce avocado is thought to be a Guatemalan X Mexican hybrid. Its fruits are generally small, slim ovoid shape with medium green, and rough waxy skin. Rated as excellent, the Alboyce’s flesh is characterized by a smooth, creamy texture, and a rich nutty taste. The fruit matures at the same time as the Fuerte. It also has a long picking season.

Anaheim

The anaheim variety belongs to the Guatemalan race. Its tree originated from Anaheim, California. An anaheim is characterized by a glossy, medium-thick green skin that easily peels. Its greenish, pales yellow flesh surrounds a small to medium-sized seed.

Choquette

Choquette is a popular Florida variety. Its skin is smooth and glossy. While its flesh is silky smooth with an extremely mild flavor, and watery. Most often, the lime-green juice leaks out when the fruit is cut open. The choquette’s season is from October through to December.

Ester (or Esther)

A new and patented variety, Ester bears bigger fruits and yields about twice as much as Hass. Its flavor is rated “good” only because it lacks nuttiness.

If you prefer to eat a milder flavored avocado, choose and Ester.

Gwen

This big Guatemalan avocado is characterized by a dark-green and thick skin that peels easily. In taste and appearance, a Gwen avocado is similar to the Hass variety.

Hass

Of all the avocado varieties, Hass is perhaps the most popular. This Guatemalan is named after Rudolf Hass, a postman. Rudolf planted some avocado seeds for a small plantation. He later patented the tree in the 1930s.

The Hass avocado comes in a nutty and buttery flavor with high-fat flesh. It’s monounsaturated fat content is about 20% or even higher. Available year round, the Hass’ tough peel color is bold green that trunks dark purplish-black when ripe.

Hazzard

The Hazzard avocado is large with an elongated shape. Its olive green skin is smooth, while its flesh is creamy and of very good quality. This variety thrives in the Australian winter season, and is available in July and August.

Lamb Hass

The Lamb Hass variety is a cross between the traditional Hass and Gwen (dwarf) avocados. It looks like a Hass with black skin. A Lamb Hass fruit is of good quality. It’s available from April through to November.

Lula

Compared with many other varieties, Lula contains more water and less natural oils. The fruit is available during summer, although it can withstand a cold temperature. A Lula is prone to fungi.

Maluma

Discovered in the 1990s in South Africa, the Maluma avocado grows slowly. Its tree bears several dark-purple fruits.

Mexicola

This Mexican variety produces small, round pyriform fruit with paper-thin purplish-black, and waxy skin. Its flesh is of the highest quality.

Mexicola Grande

Contrary to its name, the Mexicola Grande is rather small with shiny, thin, and black skin. Its slightly fibrous light-flavored flesh is sweet and juicy. Mexicola Grande is available from August through to October.

Pinkerton

The Pinkerton variety comes in oblong shape with a rough, easy to peel skin. Its flesh is creamy, and its seed is small.

Puebla

Puebla is a Mexican avocado. It produces medium to large ovoid fruits with thin, lacquered maroon purple skin. Puebla’s flesh is excellent, and it contains 20% monounsaturated fat.

Reed

Reed avocado belongs to the Guatemalan race, possibly a Nabal X Anaheim hybrid. It grows in California and Western Australia. But, it thrives only during summer. Its fruit is just about the size of a softball, and it retains its green color even when ripe. Reed has a light flavor.

Rincon

Rincon avocado are small to medium in size with glossy green skin. The tree thrives best in coastal areas and in warmer temperatures than in extended cold weather. It’s fruit season is between July and September.

Topa Topa

This Mexican variety bears small to medium size fruits. Topa Topa is distinguishable by its handsome, elongated pyiform produce. Its fruit comes in smooth, dark purple, and paper-thin skin. However, its produce is of poor quality. Topa Topa contains 15% monounsaturated fat.

Wurts

The Wurtz tree is rather dwarf. It grows up to 2.5 - 3 meters only. But, no matter its height, Wurtz produces several flavorsome fruits that are available from October to December.

The B-Type Cultivars

Now, let’s move on to the B-Type cultivars. The avocado varieties that belong to this type include:

Bacon

Bacon avocado comes in light brown skin that is easy to peel. Its fruit tastes lighter compared with the other varieties. Bacon thrives in cooler climates and bears fruit from June to late July. Unlike most other varieties, the Bacon fruit falls naturally from the tree when ripe.

Brogden

Brogden is a dark-purple hybrid of West Indian and Mexican varieties. Although it’s very resistant to the cold, Brogden is hard to peel, that’s why it’s not a popular commercial variety.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra avocado is a relatively new variety. Its tree is small and dwarf.

Edranol

First propagated in 1932 in America, this cultivar demonstrates Guatemalan characteristics. Edranol is one of the tastiest avocado varieties. The flesh of this necked pear-shaped fruit is rich in flavor with an oily texture. It comes in olive green with moderately glossy, smooth skin. Edranol matures between the Fuerte and Hass seasons.

Ettinger

The bright green-skinned Ettinger variety originates in Israel. Its fruit is extremely fibrous and is of mild flavor. It also has a very limited shelf life. There is also an Ettinger variety grown in South Africa, but its quality is very poor.

Frazer

This Guatemalan variety bears large, lemon-shaped fruit with a thick pebbly black skin.

Ganter

The Ganter avocado is the oldest cultivar in California. But, this variety was only introduced into the state. It originated from Mexico. Ganter produces small, long pyriform fruits with paper-skin, pale, and waxy skin. Its flesh is of good quality with a fat content of 18%.

Fuerte

Fuerte originated from a natural Mexican X Guatemalan hybrid. It’s tolerant to cold weather and produces fruit every two years between June and October. The pear-shaped, dark green-skinned Fuerte is known for its nutty flavor. Its flesh has an oily texture similar to that of a hazelnut. In South Africa, this cultivar sets the standard by which all other avocados are judged.

Horshim

This Israeli cultivar is small to medium in size, pear-shaped and often with a pronounced neck. Its skin is slightly rough, waxy medium green. Horshim’s flesh is firm in texture and rich in flavor.

In 1977, the Horshim cultivar was rated as having the highest quality of known varieties in America.

Jim

Jim is a hybrid that bears small to medium fruits. Its skin is olive green with a long neck. Jim retains its green color even when ripe. Its monounsaturated fat content is 12%.

Llanos Hass

Llanos Hass is a new avocado variety that originated from Western Australia. Its fruits are similar to Hass. It matures at a minimum of about 4 to 6 weeks earlier than Hass.

Lyon

This slow-growing avocado tree is difficult to propagate. It’s often scion incompatible. Lyon produces dark glossy green fruit with rough, pyriform skin. Its flesh is of high quality. It contains 21% monounsaturated fat.

Monroe

Monroe is a large, firm avocado variety. Its weight reaches up to more than 2 pounds. Its flesh is less watery.

Murrieta Green

This hybrid originated from Mexico and introduced into the US by Juan Murrieta in 1910. Murrieta Green is a slow-growing tree that produces large, oblate, green fruits, similar to Fuerte. Its fruit is exceptionally good with a monounsaturated fat content of 18%.

Nabal

A Nabal cultivar is a rare Guatemalan. Its budwood was brought to the United States in 1917. Aside from the US, Nabal avocado is also propagated in Israel since 1934. Its skin is smooth, dark green and medium-thick. The Nabal fruits are very large with rounded, softball-shape seeds. Its flesh is greenish-yellow in color, creamy and of exceptionally high quality. It’s available in the summer and early fall.

Nobel

Nobel’s open-pollinated Gwen seedling originated from and grown in Australia. This variety, however, does not produce much budwood.

Ryan

This Guatemalan avocado is of poor quality. Its large seed often germinates inside the fruit, causing it to rot while still on the tree. Ryan fruit sometimes fails to ripen satisfactorily.

Sharwil

Sharwil is an Australian avocado. It’s a Guatemalan X Mexican hybrid. It’s a favorite cultivar in New South Wales and Queensland. The fruiting season of this glossy, rough, green pear-shaped fruit is between June and August. Sharwil is known for its very oily and moderately rich nutty taste. It matures slightly later than Fuerte.

Shepard

Shepard avocado originated from and grown in Atherton Tablelands of North Queensland, Australia. The fruit is elongated in shape with smooth glossy skin. It’s often called the green skin avocados as it maintains its bright green color even when ripe. Its flesh comes in a nutty to buttery flavor. Next to the Hass, Shepard is the second most popular variety in the market. Shepard avocados are available from February to April.

Teague

The Teague cultivar originated from California as a seedling from a Duke X Fuerte hybrid. It possesses the characteristics of a Mexican race. The fruit comes in small to medium size, pear-shaped with light green, very smooth, waxy skin. Its flesh has a smooth creamy texture and slightly spicy taste.

Whitsell

A Whitsell cultivar is predominantly Guatemalan. But, its fruit bears some kind of the spicy anise flavor usually associated with the Mexican type. Its flesh has a rich flavor but not as nutty as Hass. Whitsell avocado is rated “very good”.

Zutano

The skin of a Zutano avocado is lighter yellow-green. Unlike the more buttery varieties, its flesh is of mild taste.

More Avocado Varieties

Apart from the A-Type and B-Type, there are avocado varieties that are not categorized under any of the two cultivars. Here are some of them.

Creamhart

Creamhart is a hybrid seedling of Reed. Its skin is green with a flesh that is extraordinarily buttery, almost fiberless and pale in color.

Daily 11

This variety is a relative of Hass. Daily 11 is a huge fruit that weighs 5 pounds or more. Its thick, armor-like skin covers an oily and flavor-rich flesh. Daily 11 is available from August to October.

Duke

Duke bears small, elongated fruits with green and paper-thin skin. Its flesh is of excellent quality, and available in October. The Duke’s monounsaturated fat content is 21%.

Hall

The Hall variety is a relative of the Choquette, and is of similar size and shape. Although Hall is less watery than Choquette and is nuttier with thicker flesh. It’s available in October and November.

Gem

This is an open-pollinated Gwen seedling. The average skin thickness of a Gem is 1.6 millimeters.

Harvest

Harvest is also another open-pollinated Gwen seedling.

Marvel

Again, marvel is another open-pollinated Gwen seedling. The average thickness of its skin is 1.2 millimeters.

McArthur

The skin of a McArthur variety is thick and creamy. It comes in a nutty and delicious flavor. Its texture is smooth and buttery when fully ripe. You can have it from August through to November.

Queen

This Guatemalan race produces exceptionally large elongated, and purple fruits. Its flesh is excellent and fairly hard. Queen contains 13% monounsaturated fat.

Santana

Santana is a rare avocado variety. It originated as a seedling of a Zutano tree (Mexican race). This cultivar starts bearing fruit at an early age. Its fruits are thick ovoid to pear-shaped, sometimes with a pronounced neck. They are generally large with glossy, relatively smooth and light green skin. The Santana flesh is very light (pale color) with a soft, smooth mushy texture, and a fair flavor. Its quality is sometimes spoiled by the occurrence of blossom-end rot.

Spinks

The Spinks hybrid avocado bears medium-sized, round with small neck fruits. Its flesh has an outstanding flavor, containing 16% monounsaturated fats.

Tonnage

This is a classic, pear-shaped avocado with frog-green pebbly skin and slender neck. Its flesh is sweet and buttery with a faint and savory taste of chestnut. Tonnage contains just 8% - 10% monounsaturated fat. It’s available in September.

Avocado Varieties Grown in the Philippines

Let’s go farther to Southeast Asia. Did you know? The Philippines also grows some avocado varieties since its introduction in 1903. Unfortunately, some of them are now gone. Most of the surviving varieties are selections from local seedling trees.

227

Yes, 227 is not only a number. I’ts an avocado variety that bears a bottle-necked fruit with purple and thick skin. Its flesh is dark yellow.

240

A 240 variety produces an ovoid fruit with thin green skin. Its flesh is creamy yellow.

Calma

The Calma fruit is ovoid with a reddish-purple and intermediate-thick skin. Its flesh is yellow.

Cardinal

The skin of the bottle-necked Cardinal is thick reddish-purple. Its flesh is yellow and moderately fibrous.

Uno

Uno produces an ovoid fruit with purple and thick skin. Its flesh is creamy yellow.

Furthermore, the National Seed Industry Council approved the following three new varieties. Although these are yet to be released to the private nurseries.

Cepillo Green

The fruit of a Cepillo Green is pyriform with green and intermediate-thick skin. Its flesh is dark yellow.

Parker

Parker avocado produces ovoid fruits with purple and thick skin. Its flesh is firm, smooth, and creamy yellow. It has a slight buttery and nutty flavor with little fiber.

RCF Purple

RCF Purple produces ovoid fruits with reddish-purple and thick skin. Like the Parker variety, the flesh of an RCF Purple is creamy yellow, firm, and smooth. It also has a slight buttery and nutty flavor with little fiber.

Bottom Line

There are indeed several avocado varities, and more choices, too. Although we are not expected to remember all their names. Notwithstanding, just take note of the fat content. If you’re either a Type 2 diabetic, or trying to lose weight, you now know which variety to eat. You see, not all avocados are bad for you.