An avocado is a pear-shaped fruit with bumpy green or black skin, creamy pale green flesh, and a large pit in the center. Though we often treat it like a vegetable in cooking, it's technically a fruit because it grows from a flower and contains a seed.

Avocados grow on trees in warm climates and were first cultivated thousands of years ago in Mexico and Central America. The Aztecs called them ahuacatl. Today, they're grown in places like California, Florida, and countries around the world.

The flesh of an avocado has a rich, buttery texture unlike most other fruits. It doesn't taste sweet. Instead, it has a mild, slightly nutty flavor that works well in both savory dishes and smoothies. Many people enjoy avocados mashed on toast, sliced in salads, or blended into guacamole, a traditional Mexican dip.

Avocados are unusual because they contain healthy fats rather than the sugars found in most fruits. They won't ripen while still on the tree. Farmers pick them firm, and they soften over several days after harvest. You can tell an avocado is ripe when it yields to gentle pressure, like pressing on the eraser end of a pencil.