The humble avocado 082721

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Published on Friday, August 27, 2021

By Victoria Torley

I admit it. I live in the pueblo of Aguacate (avocado) – where it is rumored that we once had a lot of aguacate trees – and I am not fond of avocados.

If you are going to feed me an avocado, it needs to be mashed up and mixed with lemon juice and some medium salsa. Not the hot stuff, the medium stuff. Something has to give an avocado some flavor. As it is, all by itself, it is pretty tasteless and mushy which probably means that it would be an excellent baby food.

It is the only edible thing I can think of that is ‘ripe’ when its peel has turned black. Not very appetizing.

So, do I eat avocados? Yes, I do, mashed with salsa. Why? Because, even with salsa, they are easy to digest and disgustingly good for me since they contain potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, E, K, and B. Evidently, they also have some medical use, but not the fruit, only the leaves, and that big clunky seed.

A word of caution. Only the old dry leaves are used in medical concoctions. In order to avoid predation, the young leaves are toxic and can cause heart problems. If you want to try the leaves as a medicinal treatment, find the old dried-up ones – the ones ready to fall off the branch.

One of my favorite concoctions for fresh avocado seed is a treatment of arthritis pain (which I have) and skin infections (which I do not have). It is as follows:

One grated avocado seed mixed with 500 ml of clear rum or vodka. And that was as far as I read. This is a mixture to be applied externally (!?), and they want me to waste 500 ml of very drinkable alcohol to make it? Not me.
But let me proceed: Place in a sealed glass container, shake daily for seven days, then apply externally.

How about this instead. I have arthritis pain. I drink some of the clear rum (or vodka) while slathering avocado/salsa mix on crackers, and my pain goes away.

Now that I have found a better use for the alcohol let me proceed to the ‘maceration’ of freshly picked (but not young) leaves. The recipe does not note how many leaves should be ‘macerated’ or how much water should be used, so you will have to use your own judgment. I expect that warm or hot water would be best and that the leaves should be ‘macerated’ into something like a paste.

And why and how do you use the paste? You use it for the joint pain of arthritis, skin disorders, and headaches (although you will look silly with a leaf maceration on your forehead). Just smear it on as you would have done with the seed/vodka/rum mix.

This second recipe is one I prefer. I am now treating my joint pain with a natural product while enjoying a nice tropical rum beverage. The best of both worlds.

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Editor's note: More information on this article or about gardening, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached at victoriatorley1@gmail.com