loridians have grown and
enjoyed avocados since the
1830s, but it took a while
for the rest of the country
to catch on. With savvy
rebranding, a couple of classic recipes
and a connection to football, they’ve
skyrocketed in popularity, with no sign of
slowing down. They’re now an essential
ingredient in every tailgate party spread
and a symbol of a generation.
My great-grandma, Sara Summerlin, grew
them in her St. Lucie Village backyard.
She never made guacamole; I doubt she
ever heard of it. But she knew they were
TAILGATE
TOUCHDOWN
a great substitute for mayo or butter,
and she often mashed them to spread
on bread. Yes, my great-grandma made
avocado toast before a millennial had
even been born.
Back then they were called alligator
pears and I think that name is right
on the money. Shaped like a pear; skin
like an alligator. Farmers, who were
struggling to market them, decided
the name had to go. They thought it
confused people who were expecting
the sweetness of a pear and that folks
were turned off by a fruit named after a
swamp critter. They thought consumers
64: SPACE COAST LIVING | SPACECOASTLIVING.COM
The popularity of avocados,
which were once called
alligator pears by Floridians,
has skyrocketed over
the years thanks to the
rebranding of the fruit.
might understand what to expect and
how to use the fruit if the Spanish name,
avocado, was used. However, they failed
to mention that the Aztec word, ahuacatl,
which the Spanish name is derived
from, means testicle. They successfully
changed the lexicon.
When avocados fell out of favor during
the low-fat craze of the 1980s, marketing
executives went back to work. First they
taught people how to tell when the fruit
was ripe. Next, they created a mascot and
held a national recipe contest called the
Guacamole Bowl. By tying avocados to
football, they finally scored a touchdown.
By Danielle Rose
Avocado recipe will score big with football fans
>>
DANIELLE ROSE PHOTOS
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