It looks like an avocado, tastes like an avocado, but it’s about five times the size of your average avocado.
Avozillas, which weight between 1.2 to 1.8 kilograms (2.6 to 4 pounds), have made their debut in Australia. A family in Queensland have become the first to grow the variety locally.
Last month, David Groves and his family in Bungundarra in Central Queensland harvested their Avozilla crop for the first time.
The massive fruit did not arise from genetic modification but from cross-breeding between two avocado sub-species, namely the West Indian and the Guatemalan. The former variety is huge and watery, while the latter is smaller and known for its buttery texture.
And it appears that the Avozilla has inherited the advantages of both of parent varieties.
“They’re massive fruit… quite a lot larger than your average avocado,” David Groves told 9News. “I’m pleased to say they’re just as buttery as a Shepard or a Hass.”
How Much Are They?
Avozillas sell for A$12 ($8.90). The Groves family have grown some 400 Avozilla trees.The trees cannot bear as much fruit as other avocado varieties, according to 9News. As such, this year’s supply is only being sent to specialty fruit stores.
Fruit sales manager Cameron Perna at wholesaler Mercer Mooney in Perth told the ABC that Avozillas generally sell out within 48 hours.
“The larger ones are already pre-sold before they even leave Queensland,” Perna told the ABC. “The only ones we struggle with are the smaller ones.”
“It’s an exciting product because everybody eats avocados and instead of buying two or three a week, you only have to buy one,” Perna added. ”I cut one open the other day and got nine pieces of smashed avocado on toast out of [a] half.”
To keep it fresh once cut, Perna says cling wrapping the fruit to a plate and putting it in the fridge does the job, according to the ABC.
There’s hopes for avocado lovers that one day, the Avozillas will await them at their local supermarkets.
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