Avo-kidding me? Avo-lovers delight! For the past 7 years, a Western Australian grower has been developing a new variety of avocado.
In 2018 we heard about the Groves Family from Bungundarra Queensland, the first Australian commercial growers of the Avozilla- a giant avocado originating from South Africa. These monster avocados can grow up to 5 times the size of a regular avocado and weigh on average 1.2 kilograms.
Just when we thought avocados couldn’t get any more exciting, here we are in 2021 where Artherton man, Steven Giles, has refined the newest variety of avocado- the Avotini. Not to be mistaken with the popular AppleTini cocktail, the Avotini is approximately ⅕ the size of a regular avocado. These Easter-egg sized avos are even seedless, making for the perfect snack and hassle-free addition to salads.
Giles, 31, first had the idea for the Avotini 7 years ago. He was sitting around his parent’s lounge room, after finishing his night fill shift, wondering what his life had equated to since finishing high school to work casually and party every weekend. Tired and feeling unfulfilled, Giles just wanted to enjoy some avocado as a pick-me-up snack but wasn’t going to eat the whole fruit. He didn’t want to cut open a new avocado just to watch the other half go brown and waste away like so many other aspects of his life to date.
“How good would it be if I had tiny avos, that I could just squeeze into my mouth or better yet, mini smashed avos”, he thought to himself. It was this thought that led Giles to enter the world of genetically modified crops.
“Firstly, it’s important to have an understanding of physics, biology and DNA, not to mention the ins and outs of produce farming. When I started to develop the Avotini- I didn’t understand anything, I just really wanted mini smashed avos. So it understandably took me a long time to get to this point”, Steven Giles- Avotini grower.
That’s what brings us to this day at 11:59am on the 1st of April, 2021, the Avotini is here and due to hit all reputable fruit and veg shops by 11:59pm this evening. Whether you’re wanting to make an easy salad, don’t want to watch another half an avocado turn brown and go to waste, want to see what miniature smashed avo would look like or maybe you want to prank your kids with avocados instead of Easter-eggs the same way we’re pranking you right now- be sure to pick up some Avotinis from your local fruit and veg shop today, it’s A better choice!