Shimbashi Izakaya "Shim" means "New," and "bashi" means "Bridge" in Japanese. With the desire to provide San Diego with the best Japanese dining experience outside of Japan, we have named our restaurant Shimbashi, meaning "New Bridge."
Seasons/Availability
A year round fruit, the Hass Avocado is the most reliable of all the varieties for availability having a peak season in spring and summer. The fruit is available twelve months a year thanks to the ideal coastal California climate. Hass Avocados are regarded as one of San Diego's most famous culinary gems.
Description/Taste
Encased in a rough leathery skin, the amazing avocado, pronounced AV-uh-KAD-oh, has a succulent smooth buttery flesh with a scrumptious flavor to match. Thought of as a vegetable rather than a fruit, it's more savory than sweet. The stone in the center of the fruit is surrounded with a silky greenish-yellow flesh.
Nutritional Value
Depending on the time of year, the avocado's fat content varies. In the early part of the harvest season, California avocados have a fat content close to 2 grams per ounce, while later in the year, they can peak at 6 grams per ounce. Avocados are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and folate and are a good source of mono-unsaturated fat, which studies claim may benefit people with heart disease and certain kinds of cancer. One three ounce half contains about 162 calories.
Applications
To halve and pit a ripe avocado, cut in half lengthwise until reaching the center stone. Twist the two halves in opposite directions to separate. Remove the pit with a spoon. Carefully peel away skin. Avocados may be mashed, cubed or sliced. Halves are perfect for stuffing. Add cubed fruit to cold turkey or chicken salads, or blend with sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, green onions and basil; serve over fettuccine. Small cubes are commonly added in sushi rolls with crabmeat. Thinly slice; top California-style pizza. Pair with hamburgers and sprouts. To store, ripen fruit at room temperature. Refrigerate when ripe. Once ripe, use promptly for optimum flavor and texture.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
The Hass avocado is the only variety used to in the Latin culture to make guacamole dip due to the fact it is the only one with the highest oil content and full-bodied flavor to stand up to salty tortilla chips. Brazilians add them to ice cream, while Indonesians love them mixed in coffee, milk and rum for a cold refreshment. In Chile, avocados are a favorite on hot dogs.
Geography/History
What fruit has the shape of a pear and the skin of an alligator? It's the alligator pear, of course, also known by its common name, the avocado. Although there are many varieties of avocados, it is the famous Hass (rhymes with pass) avocado that most of us are familiar, the yummy one with the pebbly skin and rich silky texture. Of the seven varieties, including Hass, Bacon, Zutano, Gwen, Pinkerton, Fuerte and Reed, the popular Hass variety accounts for eighty-five percent of California's avocado crop volume. The Los Angeles Basin is the world's largest market for California avocados. Other California markets ranking in the Top 10 for consumption include San Francisco and San Diego. The annual ceremony for the industry's "First Pick" of the new avocado crop takes place in early December and is hosted by San Diego County. Named in honor of a California postman, Rudolph Hass, the original Hass avocado tree was actually a successful mistake grown from a seedling by Mr. Hass that occurred in the 1920s. Continually gaining recognition as an exceptional quality fruit through the years, today the popular Hass variety covets more than ninety percent of the domestic avocado production. Southern California's ideal climate conditions are perfect for growing avocados, except for mountain regions and high deserts where the temperatures get too chilly. One California avocado tree can produce up to sixty pounds of avocados each year or approximately one hundred-twenty individual fruits. Believed to be native to the Western hemisphere in Mexico and throughout the Andean regions, the avocado's actual beginning remains uncertain.
Featured Recipes
Recipes that include Hass Avocados. One is easiest, three is harder.
is easiest, three is harder.