Avocado pears - from rare to roadside (+recipes)

Avocado starters. Photo / Janna Dixon

These oily pears have steadily grown in popularity. By Grant Allen.

The Hass avocado apparently didn't always grow on trees, but is a relatively recent "invention". It was patented by American Rudolph Hass in 1935, and introduced to New Zealand in the 1950s, achieving only a small local market.

But it's popularity slowly grew, and in the the early 1980s Robyn Kippenberger established the NZ Avocado Growers Association.

Kippenberger's mission was to educate retailers about storage (avocados needed to be ripened before being refrigerated) and promote the fruit to the public through in-store demos. Food writers were swayed by Kippenberger turning up at their doors with a basket of perfect fruit.

In the 1980s the avocado pear, as it was then called, was a sophisticated ingredient to put on the table.

Today its season is anticipated by many Kiwis, and the good news this year is that there will be a bumper crop to enjoy. Avocados are a biennial croppers - they harvest profusely one year followed by a lesser yield the next. This year is tipped to be a whopper, possibly the best ever. They are also a concentrated food source, lacking only in B vitamins. Spread your avocado on Vogels and you have a complete intake. They are hypoallergenic, so are tolerated by most people bar those with the most extreme food allergies. They are good for babies and old people and anyone in between. Healthy, delicious, and this season, cheap - what more could you want?

Avocado starter

This is a classic retro dish that our parents might have made when they wanted to appear sophisticated. It's also a great way to show off your vintage china.

1. Divide an avocado in half and remove the stone.

2. Fill the cavity with chopped hard boiled egg and garnish with long chives. Dress with an olive oil and lemon juice vinaigrette.

3. Fill the other cavity with shredded iceberg lettuce and chopped cooked prawns or shrimps, folded into a mix of mayo, tomato sauce, a splash of tabasco and a few drops of Worcester sauce.

Avocado tips

* Ripen at room temperature before refrigerating to extend their life.

* In the early season avocados have a lower oil content so their flavour improves as the season progresses. Hass avocados improve from October until March, Reed avocados from February until June.

* An avocado should be picked with a little stem and when this comes away easily it is ripe.

All of the recipes and ideas here use Hass avocados, the most commonly available and, to my mind, the superior type.

* Grant Allen has been a professional cook for 30 years. He works as a caterer in Auckland. Visit Grant's Facebook page here.