Aguacate Común

Persea americana

Aguacate (varieties: común/papelillo, Hass, choquette)

Field guide

🗓️ Season

● peak · ○ available · — scarce

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🗺️ Where it grows

Avocado is native to the highlands of Mesoamerica (Mexico and Guatemala); the large 'común' type is grown in Colombia's warmer lowlands.

Elsewhere in the world: Also grown in Mexico, Peru, Chile, the Dominican Republic, the United States and Israel.

Altitude: 0–1,000 m

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Where it grows wildWhere it's farmed todayMedellín

👀 Look

The big everyday local avocado. Some are as large as a small melon. The skin is smooth, glossy and pale green, and so thin locals call it papelillo ("paper-skin"). Cut it open and the flesh is pale and soft.

👃 Aroma

Mild and green, a little grassy.

👅 Taste

Light and mild, watery and lightly buttery. Softer and much less rich than the Hass most travelers know from home. Fresh rather than intense.

Sweetness: ⭐☆☆☆☆

🍽️ How to eat it

In Colombia avocado is a side dish, not a dip. Locals eat thick slices with a pinch of salt, mash it onto bread, or drop a slice into sancocho (a hearty Colombian stew) and other soups — a slice in your sancocho is almost expected. It also sits beside a bandeja paisa (the big Antioquian platter of meat, beans and rice).

🧃 Drinks

Rarely juiced. Once in a while a stall blends it with milk and sugar into a batido (a thick milkshake), a Brazilian idea.

🏪 Buying tips

It is ripe when it gives gently to a soft squeeze, and the thin skin may crackle and loosen. Buy firm ones for later in the week and soft ones to eat tonight. Tell the vendor which day you plan to eat it and they will pick for you.

💰 Price

About 5.000/kg wholesale, so roughly 6.000 COP/kg at the market (April 2026). Cheap and everyday.

🌎 Local lore

This giant, watery avocado is a local favorite that never leaves the country — it is too soft and juicy to survive shipping. So while Colombia exports mountains of Hass, the común stays home. Ask any local and they will tell you it makes the better sancocho (Colombian stew) avocado.

⚠️ Watch out

Avocado is toxic to dogs, cats and birds — it contains a compound called persin — so do not share it with pets. It is perfectly safe for people.

🎉 Fun fact

The avocado is a cousin of cinnamon and bay in the laurel family. Its huge seed is thought to have evolved to be swallowed whole by giant Ice Age animals that are now extinct. The word "avocado" comes from the Aztec (Nahuatl) word āhuacatl, and "guacamole" from āhuacamolli, meaning "avocado sauce."

⭐ Worth trying?

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ Try a thick slice of the giant común with just salt — it may change what you expect from an avocado.