Fresh or what?

I like avocados. When I went to Chile, I realised that a lot of our family-by-marriage own fields full of avocado trees - and grow loads of aubergines, grapes, tomatoes and other plants that are fairly unusual in Scotland but are everywhere in Chile.

Our Nelly in an avocado field belonging to Don Luis, her brother-in-law. 

About a fortnight ago, I bought a couple of avocados in the supermarket. They were pretty small, pretty dear (79p each) and pretty hard but I thought if I softened them up they'd be great. I kept them in daylight on the kitchen counter rather than the fridge. And I waited. A week later, I tried opening one up and discovered it was still rock hard. I pried it out of its skin and ate it but it had the texture - and flavour - of a stone. Yesterday I tried the other one. Still fit only to be used as ammunition. I tried eating it but finally threw it out. 

Today I went to Whole Food Market and bought two avocados. They cost me 1.79 for the two and the taste is a world away from last week's experience. They are marked 'ripe' and they are. They are also marked 'Produce of Chile' which really pleased me. I ate one tonight with chopped organic tomato (also from Whole Food) and a wee bit of salad dressing. A feast. No other word for it. 

I'm guessing wherever the supermarket avocados came from, they were imported over a long distance and refrigerated. I don't mind supermarkets doing that but I would like them to come clean and tell me the produce is chilled. I'm a grown up. I can work out chilled avocados will be the same as chilled pears or tomatoes or apples or bananas: keep them as long as you like but they'll never ripen. One day they'll be rock hard and the next they'll be rotten. 

Next time I'm in Sainsbury's I'll ask if I can make a suggestion and recommend they supply food fit for eating instead of cannonballs. And next time I'm in Whole Food Market, I'll compliment them on stocking Chilean avocados that taste the way they should.