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Comment by jb1991 | Hacker News Reader

jb1991

Is interesting that here in Europe there are lots of avocados, none of them are from the United States or Mexico. Many of them are very good though, I’m particularly fond of those that are grown in South America, usually Chile or Peru. I wonder if those are also haas avocados or not.

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Yes most avocado sold in Europe are Hass. You can see by the shape and the skin type (others typically sold are longer and smoother outside usually).

My quick survey of California, Chile, Peru, Israel and Spain production suggests that Hass is the the most widely produced (maybe 80% of production) but other varieties are produced in lesser quantities.

Europe has TERRIBLE avocados.

What a rather hyperbolic comment to make. It’s simply not true. Just like in the states you can buy avocados grown in Florida which are terrible, and Europe you can buy avocados that are not so great. But many of Europe’s avocado sources are also the same sources that serve American stores. I bought the same great excellent Chilean haas avocados in the United States as I get in Europe.

You cannot get a good avocado in Denmark, period. Last attempt I got eight that looked good. All but two was basically rotten inside, the remaining two just meeh. Trying avocado and guacamole in the US is just something completely different. The avocados are huge and absolutely perfect.

I've just given up on avocados, I'll have to wait for a trip to Mexico or the US.

Denmark, imho, has the worst grocery stores of all Western European countries. I'm comparing an average supermarket not some organic high-end. I find grocery shopping usually pleasurable, Netto makes get out asap.

Even the high-end supermarkets in Denmark suck, but it makes sense, it's all the same three chains, COOP, Salling Group or Dagrofa.

I read somewhere that Denmark is the country with the highest food prices in Europe, but we also spend the least on food. That's just a winning combination right there.

I struggle to understand why. Is it tariffs or some sort of farmer protectionism lobbying like Switzerland? Switzerland, one of the most expensive countries, has pretty decent grocery price.

Neighbour Sweden has pretty great prices for that latitude.

Costco in the US offers single-serve sealed just avocado, about 1/2 of a large fruit, that last for weeks. Absolutely perfect every time with more consistency than the real thing™.

It's always hit or miss in Ireland too, but its usually a miss. It's the only place I've ever eaten avocados that look and feel ripe, but taste like unripened bananas, it's a weird flavor that I don't know how to fix.

Buy the 'ripen at home' ones in Lidl as opposed to the 'ready to eat' ones which are definitely hit or miss and probably undergo some accelerated ripening.

Sounds like a business opportunity! You should be able to get some good ones imported?

I’m sure there are reasons why they’re not common to find here, and neither you or I are the first to consider importing them.

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