I just love this story. With avocado pears being one of my favourite fruit and with them in season right now, it is not uncommon for me to have a number of them lying around the kitchen. They may be hidden, hard and unripe in a cupboard slowly ripening. Or if I find they are ripening, I’ll leave them out on the table. If they are half forgotten and are soft to the touch, I whip them out and refrigerate them to slow the process.
Whatever the state of my avocado pear, today I learned that one of the most common is the Haas variety – recognised by their bumpy skin and lovely smooth interior, popular the world over. Today, David drew my attention to the Haas history.
In 1926 there lived an American mail man named Rudolph Haas. When he was not delivering the mail, he enjoyed his passion as an amateur horticulturalist. How did it come to pass that the Haas Avocado that I enjoy today could be named after Rudolph?
Here’s how:
Haas lived in California and tended his 1.5 acre plot, experimenting with seeds he purchased from others. Three of those seeds were avocado seeds he had bought from A.R. Rideout. Haas planted them in his garden and they began to grow. As they did, he tried to graft the branches into a popular avocado cultivar at the time, but was not successful. In thinking they would not work, he was on the point of cutting them down, when a professional grafter told him the saplings looked good and strong and so he decided to leave them. In time, they began to bear fruit. the skin was bumpy, but the flesh was tasty and popular with his children. The trees were prolific and soon Haas was selling the surplus to co-workers and eventually to a grocery store. Chefs of wealthy residents in the area found them very much to their employer’s liking and would pay $1 per avocado. In 1926, that was a lot of money.
In 1935, Haas made a very wise decision and patented his tree. It was the first tree to be patented in the United States. As demand grew, Haas made a deal with with a nursery to grow and graft his avocado tree and the industry blossomed.
Rudolph Haas continued as a mailman until his death from a heart attack in 1952. By then he had established a much bigger orchard.
The original avocado ‘mother tree’ lived for 76 years before being cut down in 2002 after a decade of root rot. A plaque marks its existence.
Haas avocados are now enjoyed the world over and the avo industry in South Africa is thriving, with many of them grown in the north of the country.
This morning, I read Psalm 24. It begins, appropriately, like this:
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
From avocados to human beings, we all belong.
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂