Description
- Avocado leaves are commercially found in both fresh and dried form and are used medicinally and to flavor culinary dishes.
- Avocado leaves are an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants such as phenols and flavonoids.
- They also contain zinc, manganese, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron, and potassium.
- Dried Avocado leaves will keep up to one year when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry, and dark place.
Avocado leaves are small to medium in size and oblong to elliptic in shape, averaging 4-10 centimeters wide and 10-30 centimeters in length. The surface on the top of the leaf is dark green and leathery, while the bottom of the leaf is matte and light green to brown. There is a prominent light green-white vein that runs through the center of each elongated and slender leaf. Avocado leaves are usually toasted before use, offering a nutty hazelnut aroma and a mellow anise-licorice flavor. Culinary Avocado leaves are typically harvested from the Mexican avocado varieties, botanically classified as Persea drymifolia, and share the same family as the bay leaf, both belonging to the Laurel family.