CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



51 



21° F. — All Guatemalan types killed to bud; a few of hardiest 

 Mexicans, such as Knowles and San Sebastian, with 

 young leaves only, injured. 

 It must be remembered that the above statements at best can only be 

 approximately correct; and much variation will always be found, due to 

 tree condition and environment. 



THE AVOCADO FOR THE TABLE 



By Victor Hirtzler, Maitre de Cuisine, Hotel St. Francis, 

 San Francisco, California 



Brillat-Savarin once said that the man who invents a new dish is of 

 more use to humankind than he who discovers a new star in the heavens. 

 As wide as is the range of dishes which appear on our bills of fare; yet 

 they are derived from a comparatively limited amount of foodstuffs. Chefs 

 and Epicureans have for years tried to devise new dishes to tickle the 

 palate of those blessed with earthly goods; yet these new dishes resolve 

 themselves into new combinations and mixtures of known foodstuffs and 

 become popular only through new flavors, or savory combinations, or gain 

 an ephemeral success and vogue through the fad of the hour or through 

 the predilection of a celebrity of the stage. 



But given a new food product, either of the gardens, fields, or woods, 

 or the streams or oceans, a new material is given the expert cook to test 

 his ingenuity in bringing out the characteristic individuality in its most 

 original form. The remotest places in the Temperate Zone have been 

 ransacked to produce something which may become of use as human food, 

 and the supply is so varied as to present a large assortment wherefrom to 

 pick according to season. Preservation has further extended the amount 

 to choose from during the whole year, and the development of transporta- 

 tion gives today to the average man a variety on his bill of fare which a 

 hundred years ago not even princes could afford. 



Today it is the explorer in far-off countries who meets with new 

 dishes, and having acquired a liking, introduces them at home. The world 

 traveler in his peregrinations meets with new creations of the chef's art, 

 and wishes to find them on his home table. Governments in their search 

 for new foods for their increasing populations send out scientists in quest 

 of material likely to prove of value as promising foodstuff. 



It is such new products in the hand of an expert chef that enables 

 him to produce those new dishes which make him famous and incidentally 

 bring a welcome addition to the table. Among these new introductions 

 which have been found of value and for which a ready market is found, 

 is the avocado, erroneously named alligator pear, of tropical origin. This 

 fruit has been introduced on the table of the Temperate Zone and has 

 immediately found a welcome acceptance. The demsmd being stronger 

 than the supply, cultivation of the trees has been started in regions con- 

 genial to the best growth of the plant. Today we find extensive planta- 

 tions of avocados both in Florida and in Southern California, which will 

 come into bearing in years to come, and the fruit of which will become 

 available to the same extent as that of another tropical fruit, the banana. 



If in former years, haphazard experiments have sometimes led to the 

 discovery of lucky combinations or preparations of a new food product. 



