Avocado oil

This year, the Fallbrook Avocado Festival is pleased to have Bella Vado Oils join the popular event. The company represents the essence of the healthiest, most multifaceted edible avocado oil on the market.

“We will be selling three different types of avocado oils: regular, lemon-infused and orange-infused,” said owner Corrine da Silva.

In addition to premium culinary oils, da Silva said their handmade avocado oil body soaps, made the old-fashioned way, will be available. “They will be hand-cut, with different essential oils in them,” she explained. The properties of avocado oil in body soap make the product quite successful in penetrating the skin, allowing it to help maintain suppleness in all skin types.

As far as culinary oil is concerned, the popularity of avocado oil has risen in demand due to its versatility and long shelf life. Many people in the kitchen are casting aside butter and instead using avocado oil in their recipes. Many cooks feel it makes superb cooking oil that can be used in dips, salad dressings and marinade recipes. Sprinkling avocado oil on vegetable and potato dishes has also become a favored trend.

The following are a couple of delicious avocado oil recipes from the kitchen of the da Silva family.

Bodacious Bread Dip

1/2 cup avocado oil

1/3 cup aged balsamic vinaigrette

2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

2 tsp. granulated garlic

1 tsp. chili flakes

Sea salt

Pepper

Combine all ingredients (stir or shake). For additional zing, try adding 2 tablespoons of either Lemon or Orange Avocado Oil. Dip and enjoy!

Citrus Avocado Dressing

4 tbs. avocado oil

4 tbs. fresh orange juice or tangelo juice

3 tbs. lemon juice

1 tbsp. honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Shake all ingredients in a jar. This dressing is great on leafy green salads, or it can also be used on top of half an avocado, topped with some chopped parsley or spring onion.

The health benefits of avocado oil have exploded in the media.

“It can lower cholesterol, and it is high in a plant compound called beta sitosterol,” da Silva said, explaining that beta sitosterol is the green compound of the plant. The ongoing research of this compound has also been found to promote prostate health, boost immunity and normalize blood sugar levels.

Like harvesting and preparing grapes for the wine-making process, avocados must pass through a process to become oil.

Ripe avocados are placed in a hopper and onto a conveyor belt system in order to be led into an area to be tenderized and skinned. When the fruit is kneaded, the oil is derived from the pulp area.

From there it goes into two processes – centrifuge extraction, which separates the solids from the liquids (mostly oil), and a polisher, which polishes and removes any moisture. Surprisingly, it takes less than two weeks to produce Bella Vado’s high-quality avocado oil.

Nestled in Valley Center, this 40-acre family-owned business operates both the harvesting and production aspects for the oil. The da Silva family currently uses Haas avocados, though they are researching the implementation of the Fuerte variety.

Though Bella Vado Oils is only a year old, there are about 3,500 avocado trees on the property, which keeps the family rather busy. “We are the only people in California who both grow and produce avocado oil; we are the only ones in the United States,” said da Silva.

Delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit her products at the Fallbrook Avocado Festival, da Silva said there is another solution for those who are unable to attend the event but are interested in the oils. In the weeks to come, At Home on Main, a Fallbrook store filled with numerous interesting treasures, will begin offering Bella Vado’s products. The shop can be found at 136 North Main Avenue.

For more information on Bella Vado Oils, visit their Web site, http://www.BellaVado.com.