It will weigh 6 to 12 oz (170 to 340g.)
Inside, there is a large stone, and flesh that is pale yellow with a tinge of green. It has a mild flavour, and an oil content ranging from 12 to 22%.
The avocado is a mix of Mexican and Guatemalan type avocados.
The tree tends to spread outwards rather than grow upwards, making picking easier. It will start bearing commercial crops after 5 years. It may produce only light crops every other year.
It is an important variety in Israel, South Africa and Florida.
History Notes
The Fuerte Avocado originated in Mexico. It was introduced into South Africa sometime in the 1920s, and into Israel in 1924.
Sometime around 1910, a man named Frederick O. Popenoe (1 April 1863 – 22 September 1934) established a subtropical nursery in Altadena, California, which he called the “West India Gardens.” At the start, he focussed mainly on dates. But in late 1911, he commissioned a man named Carl B. Schmidt to spend a few months in southern Mexico, scouting up other sub-tropical fruits which he might consider including in the nursery, including avocados. Schmidt sent back budwood of close to 30 avocado varieties from Atlixco, about 75 miles (120 km) southeast of Mexico City. [The Fuerte would end up being number 15 of this collection that was sent back.]
Popenoe grafted the budwood onto existing avocado tree stock. A 1913 freeze destroyed most of the trees, but one came through the freeze fine. Popenoe christened it “Fuerte”, which is Spanish for “strong.”
A man named J. T. Whedon purchased 50 Fuerte trees from Popenoe in March 1914 and planted them at his place at Yorba Linda to create the first Fuerte orchard. He also planted 20 other avocado varieties at the same time. By 1919, he reported to the California Avocado Association that “of the 21 varieties planted in 1914, the Fuerte is the only one proving entirely satisfactory.” [1]
By 1920, budwood from the tree for grafting was in demand; three trees in particular from the Whedon Fuerte orchard seem to have been the source of most of it.
The Fuerte would remain the preferred avocado in the California avocado industry, until the momentum of the Hass avocado started to seriously displace it by the 1950s.
Literature & Lore
“The Fuerte today is recognized as the typical avocado…. In California, the Fuerte is the main commercial variety, and is grown in all districts in southern California except the extreme interior…” — Rounds, Marvin B. The Fuerte Avocado. California Avocado Society 1946 Yearbook. 30:54-56.
“Avocado growers in La Habra Heights were told they could expect at today’s prices to increase their profits by $200 to $1000 per acre if they would have their Fuertes topworked to Hass. Avocado production figures from five La Habra groves, each having both Fuerte and Hass, were presented by James Beutel to show the greater production and profits from Hass as compared to Fuerte.” — “Record Attendance at 26th Annual Avocado Institute.” Farm News. University of California Agricultural Extension Service. Corona, California: Corona Daily News. Friday, 29 October 1954. Section Two, Page 3.
Sources
[1] Rounds, Marvin B. The Fuerte Avocado. California Avocado Society 1946 Yearbook. 30:54-56.
Frederick O. Popenoe. California Avocado Association 1934 Yearbook. 19: 54-55.
Sicherman, Al. Minneapolis-St Paul Star Tribune. Reprinted in: The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Virginia. Wednesday, 11 October 2006. Page D4.