Giant 'Avozilla' 1.2kg avocados hit supermarket shelves
A new super-sized avocado has landed in Aussie supermarkets, with the monster fruit weighing up to 1.2 kilograms each.
The ‘Avozilla’ avocados are so large that a single fruit can supply about 20 serves of avocado on toast.
The popular fruits were sold out at IGA Doubleview in Western Australia, where they were first stocked two weeks ago.
Avozillas retail for $14.99 each and weigh “around the kilo mark”, according to Tony Priolo, Fruit and Vegetable Manager at IGA Doubleview.
“They’re very creamy, they’re like a Hass avocado,” said Mr Priolo.
In Australia, the ‘Avozilla’ avocado is new to the market and is grown at only one farm in the country, Groves Grown Tropical Fruit near Yeppoon, Queensland, run by the Grove family since 1958.
The ‘Avozilla’ is five to six times larger than a regular Hass Avocado, in some cases, bigger than a human head.
“The biggest one I’ve weighed is 1.73 kilos,” said Cameron Perna, Tropical and Exotic Fruit Manager at Mercer Mooney, which is Perth’s only distributor of the Avozilla.
“The fruit eats really well, it’s nice and creamy, it’s got that beautiful avocado taste,” Mr Perna said.
According to Mr Perna, the Avozillas could be a hot ingredient in commercial kitchens due to the large quantities of flesh in each fruit.
“For cafes and the hospitality industry, they’re amazing,” he said.
‘Avozilla’ avocados are grown at only one farm in Australia. Since 1958, the Grove family has run the ‘Grove’s Grown Tropical Fruits’ farm in Bungundarra, central Queensland.
Almost four years ago, the Grove family planted 400 Avozilla trees at their Bungundarra farm after their nursery man recommended the breed, which is subject to plant breeder’s rights regulation, strictly controlling permission to grow the fruit.
Sandi Groves says that the avocados have been sent to distributors in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. However, they are a rare fruit and only 180 trays have ever been released to the public.
The avocados are available at a range of retailers in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, including:
Parisi’s Food Hall, Rose Bay, NSW
Forest Way Fresh in Terrey Hills, NSW
Sutherland Best Fresh, Sutherland, NSW
Sylvania Best Fresh, Sylvania, NSW
Peaches Fresh Food Market, South Fremantle, WA
The Floreat Market, Floreat, WA
The Herdsman, Herdsman Lake, WA