Nowadays, the World loves avocados. Avocados are used in almost every healthy dish for they are often known as nutritious and clean. A cup (150 grams) of avocado contains at least 10 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein, zero cholesterol, and much other healthy nutrition such as Vitamin A, C, and D, potassium, and magnesium. Most of the time, avocados are used as a topping for salad, sandwiches, and many other dishes. They can be smashed, sliced, cubed, or even pureed. While most people know avocados as a healthy and delicious topping, they may not know that avocados can be used to make dessert too.
Born and raised in Vietnam, after I came to the United States, it took me a while to adjust to the cultural differences. I still remember the first time my co-workers offered me some freshly sliced avocado slices to eat along with my sandwich. I was so surprised and thought they were either joking or misspoke and meant that the avocado slices were for me to eat after the sandwich. By the time I finished eating, I looked for sugar to put on the avocado, and my co-workers looked at me very weirdly. After I told them avocados are to be eaten as a dessert, they then explained to me that people here put avocados in main dishes instead of putting them in a dessert.
Although I know that avocado is a healthy fruit, during my childhood, I have never seen a person who eats avocados in the main dish. To me, the avocados have a mushy texture and they taste unappealingly bland. I guess this was the reason why I always see my parents and other people put condensed milk or sugar on avocado before smashing them to serve as dessert.
Avocado Dessert in Vietnam
In Vietnam, there are a lot of avocados being grown in the highlands. Since they are such a commodity, they are available year-round. However, the best time to enjoy avocado dessert in Vietnam is during summer, and this is not because of the fruit’s quality. The reason the Vietnamese people eat avocado dessert during summer is that this dessert is usually served on the street or in restaurants to combat the steamy summer weather.
Avocado dessert in Vietnam has two forms, mashed or smoothie. The reason people make this dessert into two different forms is that some people like to drink it instead of eating it. In the mashed version of the avocado dessert, the avocado pulps are scoped out and roughly mashed. Since this was meant to be eaten, we don’t mash the avocado too much to reserve the chunky texture. There will be either sugar or condensed milk added depending on the customer’s preference. The last step is to add ice. The ice can be crushed or cubed.
In the smoothie version, the preparing process is the same as the mashed version, however, the combination of avocado, condensed milk, and ice will be blended into a smoothie. Usually, the smoothie version contains less ice since we don’t want the dessert to be too icy. To make this dessert a little bit fancier, some vendors add durian pulps into it. Eating or drinking avocado dessert on a hot summer day is the best thing ever. This dessert can also be made in a large patch to share with family and friends. Since avocado is a healthy fruit, this dessert will be a perfect choice in gatherings especially when you have friends who are on a strict diet.
Have you had an avocado dessert before? If you have not, you can grab a ripe avocado, mash it up, add some sweetener of your choice, add some ice, mix them all up, and enjoy.
Once Upon A Treat 