[ Natural History ] [ Arts & Culture ]
[ Braddah-Nics ] [ Local Grinds ] [ Spotlight On ]

Natural History

Avocado
(Persea americana)

Avocados were a part of growing up in the islands. The trees were in people's yards and they grew wild in the valleys. During avocado season, the fruit was everywhere, on the ground, in buckets, bags and boxes, traded among friends, and avidly eaten.

Every local kid has grabbed the brown avocado pit and stuck three toothpicks along its "waistline" and propped it up in a jelly-jar filled with water. After a wait of two to six weeks, the seed cracks open and hairy roots start filling up the jar while a fragile, leafy stalk emerges from the stalk. By then, usually, the whole thing's become a bore and, anyway, there's usually some adult who says the trees from the seed usually aren't much good.

The Spanish horticulturist Don Francisco de Paula Marin, one of Kamehameha I's advisors, is credited with introducing many valuable plants from all over the world to Hawaii from 1793 to 1826. The first avocado trees in Hawaii grew in his gardens in Pauoa Valley on Oahu.

In 1825, when the HMS Blonde returned to the islands from England bearing the bodies of Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu, a naturalist aboard made a journal entry noting that avocado plants were already in Hawaii. By 1855, the fruit was thriving throughout the islands. In 1895, Admiral Beardslee introduced Guatamalan seedlings and since then agriculturists have been experimenting and improving the flavor and texture of the Island's avocados.

As a fruit, the avocado, a native of tropical America, has a long, long history. It appears in an Aztec hieroglyphic, dating from about 291 BC, which describes the location of ahuacatl (avocado) trees. The Aztecs, it is said, regarded the fruit as an aphrodisiac. (Unconfirmed reports tell about the successful use of the avocado as an aphrodisiac by lower Amazon basin tribes who prefer the fruit to the more readily available marijuana.)

In 1519 Hernando Cortez landed in Mexico City and discovered the fruit. In 1526, historian Oviedo wrote of the avocado: "In the center of the fruit is a seed like a Peeled chestnut, and between this and the rind is an abundant part which is eaten...a paste similar to butter and a very good taste."

Europeans loved it. The English named it avocado, the Spanish, abogado, and the French called it avocat. The name, "alligator pear" appeared in 1669 and refers to the fruit's texture and shape.
Avocado is an evergreen tree forty to eighty feet tall related to the bay, laurel, camphor and cinnamon trees. The trees may live for a century but most bear for about 25 years beginning at 4 - 8 years. A good tree can give 500 fruits in a season. Some trees bear 1,200 to 1,300 fruits.

The tiny flowers are green-yellow on four to eight inch branch tips. Three horticultural varieties are Guatamalan (rough, woody skin); West Indian (smooth, thin, leathery skin) and Mexican (thin skin and spice-scented leaves) are especially popular in Hawaii. Here, the thin-skinned West Indian variety produces best below 1,000 feet. The Guatamalan and Mexican hybrids will tolerate the cooler conditions of 2,000 to 2,500 feet elevation. Some trees bear in the fall and winter. Others bear in winter and spring. The summer crop is the smallest, usually.

The fruit is pear-shaped or round, contains a large single seed and weighs from one-fourth to three pounds. The green skin can change to red, purple or purple-black as the fruit matures. Inside, the golden green to pale yellow flesh is smooth and velvety with a slightly nutty, delicate taste.

Avocado fruits ripen after they are picked, not while on the tree. Mature fruit, when full size, may change color or lose glossiness and when cut should reveal a brown seed coat. The fruit ripens better and is less likely to spoil if the stem is intact. Store fruit at room temperature approximately ten days to ripen. An avocado is ripe when it yields to gentle pressure.

The fruit are best stored at room temperature. To retard ripening, mature fruit can be stored in the refrigerator. To hasten ripening, aficionados often put avocados into paper bags and keep them in a warm, dark place.

Avocado contains seventeen vitamins and minerals and has more potassium than many other fruits and vegetables. It has a high percentage of protein and contains no cholesterol. Except for olives, avocados are the richest fruit in fat. They contain about 7% to 26% fat, with the content varying from one variety to another. Depending on the variety, a fourth to one-half avocado contains about 100 calories.

(Several dogs, goats and other animals of my acquaintance have become addicted to the wind-fallen fruit that litter the ground under avocado trees. Avocado-eating critters all seem to have a weight problem, but they sure do have glossy coats and really self-satisfied grins.)

In comparison to other fruit, avocados are a good source of vitamins B2 and B3, a fair source of vitamins A and B1, but a poor source of vitamin C. Also in comparison to other fruits, avocados are a fair source of phosphorus and iron, and a poor source of calcium.

[ Top ]

Arts & Culture

The House Of Printing

High above the sea, Lahainaluna School was established by the American missionaries in 1831 as a seminary where Hawaiians were trained to be teachers and assistant ministers. Natives were taught reading and writing in both English and Hawaiian, training in agriculture and in the governmental arts of diplomacy, law and finance.

Hale Pa'i (House of Printing) located on the school campus, was established in 1834, when the school received a second-hand Ramage press and several fonts of type. In a little grass hut, "The Torch of Hawaii" - Ka Lama Hawaii - the first newspaper west of the Rocky Mountains, was printed that same year by the Reverend Lorrin Andrews, a member of the third company of missionaries, and his students.

The paper's first edition was printed on February 14, 1834. A hundred years later, in the 100th anniversary edition, one writer would say, "The difficulties that the students of Lahainaluna underwent before the Lama Hawaii was finally printed...were numerous. The fact that the press used was old and there was no uniform type made it nearly impossible for the printing done to be successful. Another obstacle, that caused the students much discomfort, was the fact that the Hawaiian alphabet contained only twelve letters, thereby making the setting of the press a job that required days to complete."

Andrews intended that the newspaper be a learning tool. "One page of every [issue] was reserved for the original thoughts of the Hawaiians, and they filled it with respectable newspaper matter," he later wrote.

Andrews clashed with other missionaries who wanted the paper to be published in English. Calling this self-serving, he noted, "The idea of a part being in English does not strike me favorably. What do the natives want with English. What do we want of it except to send to our friends?"
The paper lasted less than a year. Other printing demands, like school primers and the first Hawaiian dictionary, were considered more important.

By 1837, the original grass hut was replaced by a permanent coral stone structure which was built by the students who hauled construction materials up the side of the mountain.

In its earliest years the 'House of Printing' also specialized in copper plate engraving, producing maps, atlases, and textbook illustrations. In 1836, the first history of Hawaii written by Hawaiians in Hawaiian, Ka Mo'olelo Hawaii, was printed. In 1843, the plates for the first paper money in the Islands was engraved at Hale Pa'i, which then printed the bills. In 1844, all printing work stopped.

Today Hale Pa'i, through the efforts of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, houses a working replica of the original press and examples of prints and engravings produced there. In 1983, the foundation reopened the restored "House of Printing", equipping it with a duplicate of the press and an interesting exhibit on the history of printing in Hawaii.

[ Top ]

Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD: If it is at all possible, we will do it.
BRADDAH-NICS: If can, us can.

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD: That is unacceptable!
BRADDAH-NICS: No can, da kine!

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD: Have I got a chance, do you think?
BRADDAH-NICS: What 'chu figgah? Can?

[ Top ]

Local Grinds

Korean Style Beef Cube Appetizers

Ingredients:

Cut meat into 3/4-inch cubes. Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sugar, onions, and peppers; marinate meat in sauce for 1 hour. Before cooking, drain meat and heat oil in skillet. Add meat and stir fry for 2 minutes or until done. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce and the sesame seed before serving.
Makes about 4 dozen appetizers.

 [Top ]

Spotlight On…

Kepaniwai Park

A short 5-10 minute drive from the hustle and bustle of Wailuku Town, lies one of the more hidden treasures of Maui - Kepaniwai Park in Iao Valley.

A relatively small place, Kepaniwai Park fills it's space with a diverse amount of scenery. A short walk around the park grounds reveals picnic enclaves, re-creations of New England, Japanese, Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, and Filipino immigrant homes, accompanying cultural heritage gardens (one of which features a colorful coy pond complete with miniature waterfall, bridges, and shrines,) and the small river which runs from deep inside the valley out to the Pacific Ocean. Surrounding these beautiful sights are the magnificent mountain cliffs of Iao Valley.

Complementing the wonderful viewing experience is the history of the park grounds; a site of one of the most well known battles in Hawaiian history; in which the ancient Hawaiian warriors of Maui were defeated by Kamehameha I. In remembrance stands a monument to these brave souls.

In addition to the Hawaiian history, visitors will find many information stations detailing various other historical facts concerning the cultural buildings and gardens located throughout the park.

[ Top ]