CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



17 



serve it without sterilization. Portions of the same lots were sterilized 

 at various temperatures. Various antiseptics were tried, such as vinegar, 

 or benzoic acid. Fermentation of the paste before canning was also 

 experimented upon. 



In all cases, the results were poor because of the loss of the fresh 

 avocado flavor and the development of an acrid taste. 



It is possible that if the fruit was treated with lye before making 

 into a paste, the acrid taste would be eliminated. Experiments made on 

 the peeled halves would indicate this to be true. 



Dried Avocados: Peeled and pitted fruit was dried at 100 degrees 

 C. The flavor of the dried product was palatable, but very much inferior 

 to the fresh article. Used in soup, it was found to impart a pleasant 

 rich flavor. It seems to have possibilities as a flavoring for high-priced 

 soups. The temperature of drying used should not be above 212 de- 

 grees F. The flesh darkens during drying. 



Canning Avocados: A number of different lots of fruit were canned 

 in various kinds of brines and syrups and at various temperatures. Salt 

 brines were unsatisfactory in all cases. A disagreeable acrid taste 

 develops in the fruit canned in plain water or brines of various degrees 

 of salt. 



Fruit canned in a 60 per cent cane sugar syrup at 180 degrees F. 

 gave excellent results. The flavor was rich and seemed equal to that of 

 the fresh fruit. The only objection seems to be that the flavor is a little 

 too rich for the product to be eaten freely. Fruit sterilized in a syrup 

 at 212 degrees F. was not equal to that sterilized at 180 degrees F. The 

 addition of a small amount of lemon juice to the syrup improved the 

 flavor of the canned product. 



Syrups of lower concentration than 60 per cent were not so satis- 

 factory as the heavy syrup. 



Preservation in Vinegar and in Brandy: The fruit keeps well if 

 stored in ordinary cider vinegar, but the excess vinegar must be leached 

 out before using the fruit. This flattens the flavor considerably, but the 

 product is fairly palatable. The texture becomes soft on long standing. 



When stored in brandy of good quality the halved fruit retains its 

 color, texture and flavor very well. The alcohol is easily removed by 

 soaking the fruit in water twenty-four hours before use. 



Oil: As Professor Jaffa has pointed out in a paper presented last 

 year, the avocado is very rich in oil which constitutes a very large portion 

 of the nutritive value of the fruit. It is probable that it will be many 

 years before enough avocados are produced in the state to make possible 

 the establishment of an avocado oil industry. As a point of interest, how- 

 ever, various methods of recovering the oil were tried out on a very 

 small scale. It seemed to be necessary to dry the fruit first. The oil 

 was then recovered by pressure at 500 pounds per square inch and the 

 oil left in the press cake was extracted with ether. The oil obtained by 

 pressure had a pleasing flavor. Its appearance was greatly improved by 

 decolorizing with bone-black and fiiltration. A great deal of solid fat 

 separates on cooling the oil. This can be removed by filtration. The oil 

 at best was inferior to good cottonseed oil. Therefore, avocado oil as a 



