It’s Avocado’s Time to Shine

What presence does avocado have on your menu? Are you making the most of its popularity and potential? Menu research from Technomic confirms that avocado enjoys somewhat steady operator penetration at more than 75 percent over the last five years, so if you’re offering guacamole as an appetizer or a condiment, layering avocado slices in a bowl preparation or tucking diced pieces into a taco, you probably consider yourself in good company.

But a deeper look at that number shows operator penetration largely carried by fine and upscale dining (each at 100 percent) along with, to a lesser extent, traditional casual dining (87 percent). Avocado use among fast-casual and quick-service restaurants clocks in significantly lower, at just over half of operators in these segments, likely skewing mostly to Mexican and Latin cuisine-influenced concepts.

Perhaps you should ask the questions again: What presence does avocado have on your menu? Are you making the most of its popularity and potential? According to the observations of Chef Brian Barney, business development chef for MegaMex Foodservice, “The answer is short and blunt: No!”

“Diners want avocado,” he affirms, noting that while operators in some foodservice segments are stepping up with remarkably inventive recipe applications, many others have yet to take full advantage of avocado to add color, rich creaminess and a mild, complementary flavor to menus. “Avocado has so many more opportunities to shine on menus.”

One perceived barrier that impedes greater use of avocado may be a misplaced assumption that whole fruit is the preferred option for flavor and performance, despite its back-of-house prep challenges. These include time-intensive cutting, pitting and scooping; inconsistent product quality, often due to difficulty assessing peak ripeness and leading to food waste; knife injuries; and food safety risks.

The WHOLLY^® Avocado product line from MegaMex Foodservice offers all the advantages of whole avocado without the cost, hassle and mess of handling fruit fresh from the farm. Available in multiple formats to best match specific menu needs, the WHOLLY^® Avocado portfolio features 100 percent real Hass Avocado products with no added preservatives or artificial ingredients. They’re picked and packaged at the perfect ripeness for 100 percent yield—something Barney prizes as a top benefit.

“When I worked in restaurants and would get a case of whole-fruit avocados, I never knew how many were going to be usable for that next meal prep. I’d have to sort the fruit, pushing on stems to determine the ripeness stage and then group these accordingly, to give my customers the best, most consistent experience,” Barney recounts.

“This was a nightmare from a training perspective,” he continues. “It was a regular battle to get kitchen staff to understand proper avocado handling, and that made adding the fruit to the menu more of a challenge than it was worth. It certainly restricted the applications where we could offer avocado and all but eliminated the opportunity to fully use it across the menu.”

Barney recognizes the face-value cost differential between whole fruit and a ready-to-use (RTU) items like the WHOLLY^® Avocado line. “There was a time when I thought such value-added products were too expensive. Then, I spent time calculating the true costs of each option. WHOLLY^® products provide better control of food costs because I know the yield is correct every time,” he says, recollecting the need to discard over-ripe or bruised fruit. “Sometimes, I could use only 50 to 75 percent of the whole fruit I received—and that waste adds up.” Even a “perfect” case could be consigned to the trash if, for example, bad weather slowed customer traffic unexpectedly, the fruit became over-ripened before operations returned to normal. “WHOLLY^® Avocado products help control for the unpredictable,” Barney says, noting a savings of up to four pounds of product per case.

Two other critical benefits of the RTU WHOLLY^® Avocado line are reduced food and kitchen safety risks. Not only is “avocado hand” a very real kitchen injury incurred while trying to remove the pit of the fruit, but “With whole fruit, there is always a concern for cross contamination, which can compromise food safety,” notes Barney. “Was the whole fruit properly washed? Was the knife being used to cut whole fruit cleaned and sanitized properly? What was prepped previously on the cutting board?” WHOLLY^® Avocado products undergo High Pressure Processing before packaging, keeping them fresh, safe and then ready to transfer into a prep line pan.

WHOLLY^® Avocado is available in multiple formats: Hand Scooped, Chunky and Smooth (aka Pulp), along with Halves, Slices & Pieces and Fusion. Each format is produced in different package sizes and all are ready to open and add directly to the prep line. Barney offers a few menu inspirations tailored to each.

HAND SCOOPED

WHOLLY^® Hand Scooped allows foodservice kitchens to save time and labor without sacrificing the fruit’s natural, fresh taste and authentic, super chunky texture.

“The large chunks of fresh, 100 percent Hass avocado bring a freshness to the Avocado Bacon Burger pictured above—without the need for kitchen staff to handle and process whole fruit,” says Barney, adding, “Plus, it stays on the burger, giving you avocado with every bite.”

He also prefers using Hand Scooped in sushi rolls and Vietnamese spring rolls: “In these, you want texture and fairly large pieces, but whole fruit can be lost with all the other ingredients.”

Hand Scooped is also the perfect option for preparing tableside guacamole. “It looks just like fresh, whole fruit, but it’s always the perfect ripeness and easy for servers to handle,” Barney notes. “All while providing superior cost control.”

CHUNKY

WHOLLY^® 100% Chunky Avocado is especially valuable for operations who want to menu a handmade-style guacamole.

“The Chunky format is great in applications where you want to showcase fresh avocado but need it to be evenly spread,” says Barney. “For the Chilaquiles pictured above, we used tostadas tossed in a roasted salsa verde, then topped those with creamy, Chunky Avocado and other ingredients for a robust bite.”

Barney also likes the Chunky format for guacamoles that are made in the kitchen. “Operators can maintain chunks of the fruit in the fresh guacamole without requiring the labor of scooping or smashing.”

SMOOTH PULP

WHOLLY^® 100% Avocado Pulp was developed to provide operators with a smooth and creamy consistency, making it a go-to for dressings, dips and sauces.

For years, studies in such research publications as the Journal of the American Heart Association and the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics have affirmed the heart-healthy benefits of the avocado, which is rich in monosaturated fats like oleic acid. Chefs can leverage this advantage by using avocado to replace some of the fats and oils in various recipes, says Barney, pointing to the Grilled Veggie & Avocado-Pesto Ciabatta sandwich pictured above as an example that showcases the Pulp format in the WHOLLY^® product line-up. “Basil and avocado work extremely well together, with the mild avocado flavor allowing the roasted garlic and basil in the pesto to pop. Leaving out the nuts makes it allergen friendly.” Toasted ciabatta is spread with the creamy avocado-pesto and then topped with onion, eggplant, fresh tomato and fresh basil. It’s finished with a drizzle of balsamic reduction.

The Pulp format is growing in popularity, reports Barney, crediting its texture for bringing added avocado versatility to menus. Consider innovation in beverages, which presents “a tremendous opportunity for incorporating avocado,” he suggests. “There are avocado margaritas and mojitos. Try an agave and avocado cold foam on a spicy Bloody Mary or atop an iced cold brew. A blended latte with agave and avocado mixed into coffee adds richness without dairy and milk alternatives.”

OTHER FORMATS

Freeing up kitchen staff from time-intensive whole fruit processing provides chefs with the opportunity to craft more inventive ways to use avocados. The Avocado & Potato Tacos recipe pictured above is one example, says Barney, calling it “a great, plant-based, filling recipe” that uses WHOLLY^® Avocado Halves. This format also works well in a sweet-and-spicy salad featuring grilled peaches, Bibb lettuce, blue cheese crumble and bacon bits. Or try a twist on loaded tater tots, topping the potatoes with diced avocado halves, gorgonzola crumbles, diced tomatoes, scallions and cilantro.

The WHOLLY^® Avocado product line also includes WHOLLY^® Fusion and Slices & Pieces formats, both of which are blends of creamy avocado pulp with some chunks and pieces. These are good for menu applications like a toast or a wrap, where a spread of creamy avocado still carries its “piece identity,” maintaining some chunky texture.

MAKE YOUR MODERN MENU MOVES

WHOLLY^® Avocado products allow chefs and menu developers greater culinary latitude to use avocado in ways that invigorate the menu. Barney finds great potential in the breakfast/brunch space, “an area where I love to add avocado,” he says. “Think of an open-faced biscuit sammie topped with thick-cut, chipotle-honey-seasoned bacon and a dollop of Hand Scooped avocado all topped with a fried egg. It’s not only extremely tasty, but also visually appealing.”

Cut back on the amount of oil in a chimichurri or salad dressing by using avocado. “It becomes a natural emulsifier that builds body while helping other flavors to pop,” explains Barney. “I highly recommend trying grilled peaches and a balsamic reduction on top of a smooth avocado spread on grilled sourdough crostini.”

Avocado demand is unmistakable, and there’s a real opportunity for operators to explore just how much more this ingredient can bring to the menu. By looking beyond whole‑fruit limitations, and leaning on RTU options, operators can tap into all the color, creaminess and creative potential avocados have to offer.

Ready to get real about the singular power of a single ingredient? Click here to learn more about the WHOLLY^® Avocado line of ready-to-use 100% real Hass Avocado products and request a sample.