More than 10, 000 years ago, people in Mexico and Central America gathered and ate the fruit of wild avocado（牛油果）trees，anddidn't take long before they started to plant this high-fat, tasty food.
The name"avocado"(be)from an Aztec word, ahuacatl, which refers to the shape of the fruit. The earliest evidence of human(consume) of avocados is the seeds, or stones, found in Coxcatlan Cave in the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico, have dated back to around 8, 000 BCE. The high oil content of the avocado's green flesh would have made the fruit a valuable additionthe prehistoric diet.
Domestication of the avocado soon followed, with the trees(plant) in Mexico and Central America. By the time the explorer Christopher Columbus(reach) South America in 1492, avocados were being consumed as far south as Peru. Today, Mexico is the world's leading avocado producer, and the fruit is alsoimportant crop in the US state of California, the Dominican Republic, and Indonesia.
With an amazing flavour, buttery flesh, and high nutrient content, the avocado has enjoyed a recent rise in popularity, and people continue to find innovative ways(enjoy) it. It is perhaps most famous as the main ingredient of salad, but in Latin America avocados are still（wide） used to garnish（搭配）chicken and potato soup.
