Buzz
However, for the city girl accompanying her mother back to the countryside, there was also avocado, a fruit with greenish-purple skin when ripe, split open to reveal its golden flesh. Discarding the seeds, pouring condensed milk or sugar over it and eating with a spoon was absolutely divine.
Back then, Bao Loc was still a desolate land, with tea hills in the distance and streams full of fish nearby. Avocado trees were planted for shade, and the fruits were left for consumption. However, not many people liked to eat them because they tasted 'bland,' and to make them delicious, one had to consume them with 'luxurious' items like sugar and condensed milk.
The backyard of the girl's grandparents' house was quite spacious. Her grandfather had immigrated from Vinh Long, a place known for its sweet fruits and flowers, so when he settled in this red land of the highlands, he made sure to plant a variety of things. From guava with red or white flesh, to plum trees, cashew trees, both regular and Thai mangosteens, jackfruits, and durians...
Then, from the nursery garden of the nearby Agricultural University, where her brother (the girl's cousin) was working, came some selected rare tree species, which her grandfather added to his collection. One of those rare species was the avocado tree.
By the time the girl reached adolescence, the avocado trees in her grandparents' garden had grown tall and lush. Those trees outside the fence bore long, very large green avocados, with a deep green interior when split open.
As for the tree right in the backyard of the house, it was the buttery avocado, with small round fruits. When ripe, their skin turned dark purple, and the flesh inside turned golden like a piece of rich buttery avocado, with tiny seeds.
During avocado season, those shiny-skinned avocados will ripen from the stem down to the flesh inside the skin, so when they are ripe, the stem also softens gradually, just waiting for a breeze to make them fall effortlessly to the ground.
Those avocados, when picked and brought into the house, if left for a day or two to ripen evenly, they're still incredibly delicious even without sugar or milk. Just take a knife, split it open, peel the skin, hold it in your hand, and take a bite. It tastes slightly tangy but creamy and fragrant. Truly living up to its name – the avocado.
As the girl grew up, due to family responsibilities, her trips back to the countryside during avocado season became less and less frequent. Only her cousin occasionally sent down a few avocados in carefully wrapped packages as gifts.
Those were joyous days in the girl's house. Meals would feature avocados dipped in soy sauce or fish sauce, eaten with white rice. And even more, after an afternoon nap, there would be mashed avocado with ice and sugar...
But as the girl grew older, avocados became scarcer. The avocados weren't as tasty anymore. In a letter sent down by her cousin, it was explained that avocados are prone to degeneration, and even with proper care, the chosen seedlings from the mother tree still couldn't produce good fruits.
Hybridization through grafting is necessary, but with the economy being tough, while people are accustomed to eating avocados with sugar and milk. Now avocados are scarce, wrinkled, only fit for feeding pigs, yet it's still a hassle to split them to separate the seed.
Then one day, also in the letter sent down, he wrote: 'The market is flooded, they're chopping down all the avocados outside the fence. Even if we keep some, we don't know what to do with them.'
And just like the girl's parents, her cousin also took on the roles of grandfather and great-grandfather. The old garden had to gradually be cleared to make room for building houses for the next generation. The famous buttery avocados also shared the same fate as other fruit trees.
The girl no longer had the opportunity to return to Bao Loc, although she was happy to hear that her hometown had now turned into a city. As for the avocado trees, after ups and downs, they have now become a popular and widely cultivated economic crop throughout the Central Highlands.
Usually, avocados ripen around April. But with the current cultivation methods, many avocado trees can bear fruit year-round.
The neighbor girl from Dak Lak province still reminisces: 'In December, the avocado orchards around our house are in full bloom, and by January or February, you can already see young avocados. In March, the avocados start to ripen. But nowadays, it's rare to find orchards waiting for avocados to ripen. As soon as they're ripe, they're picked for trade. The avocados at that time are firm, easy to transport. But if left to ripen, they spoil quickly.'
Tourists visiting Dalat in the spring for strawberries, or in the summer for avocados as gifts. However, some familiar faces from Dalat sincerely admit that the avocado varieties in Dalat have degenerated and are no longer as tasty. Avocados sold now are often from Duc Trong, as the climate and soil there seem to be very suitable for avocado trees, especially the creamy avocado variety.
Initially, it was a type of avocado grafted from shoots of the best-selected mother trees. Combined with a meticulous care process, it has created a region known for high-quality avocados. Now, the best avocados are also from Duc Trong.
A friend who is a driver often takes tourists around the Central Highlands mentioned that the largest avocado plantation in the Central Highlands is in Duc Trong, Lam Dong province. The avocado season varies depending on the region, typically lasting about three months, stretching from March to August...
During that time, whether from Duc Trong, Lam Ha, Di Linh, Bao Loc, Bao Lam, wherever you go, you'll see avocados. Avocados from Dak Lak also pour in here.
Dalat has Cau Dat avocados, Tram Hanh avocados. Don Duong, besides its specialty persimmons, also focuses on avocados now. And if it's seasonal or Tet avocados, beware, those are from Gia Kiem, Dong Nai. Avocados from other regions are naturally not as good as those from Duc Trong, but tourists rarely know, and even if they do, it's very difficult to differentiate.
But knowing that is enough. The important thing is another avocado season is coming...
The avocado season in the Central Highlands.
Originating from Mexico and introduced by the French for cultivation in the 1940s, Vietnam now has many new avocado varieties, some even imported from the US, Australia, etc. However, the most beloved types remain the creamy and buttery avocados...
Each type of avocado can produce fruits with different delicious flavors and levels of creaminess. But according to Vietnamese taste preferences, the most cherished and highest-priced variety is still the creamy avocado with golden flesh, thick pulp, and moderate-sized seeds.
As reported by Tuoi Tre
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Reference: Travel guide from Mytour
MytourMarch 17, 2016
