Hass Avocado is a pear-shaped fruit characterised by its rough skin whose colour changes from dark green to black as it matures. Its flesh is incredibly buttery, creamy, smooth, without fibres, bright green, and - compared to other varieties - with intense taste. The fruits cultivated in Sicily usually reach smaller sizes - each avocado fruit weighs from 120g to 200g. Thanks to its thick, tough skin, Hass endures transport well. The time of ripening and harvest usually comes in January and lasts until May. The fruits are best stored in a cool and dry place, yet we advise against keeping them in the coolest place of a fridge. To speed up the process of avocado ripening, it suffices to keep them in a paper bag accompanied by apples. Avocado is an exotic fruit which originates from South America. It has been known since the times the Aztecs and the Incas, yet it became commonly known in Europe only in the previous century. The first avocado trees were planted in Sicily in the 1970-s. There are over 600 varieties of avocado, what allowed the creation of cross-breeds which adapt well to various climatic conditions that are slightly different from the subtropical ones. Avocado is valued mainly for its content of unsaturated fatty acids, which make up 20% of the fruit.