Avocado leaves: what they are, taste and substitutes

What is it?

Avocado leaves are a pre-Hispanic aromatic seasoning of Mexican cuisine, coming from the Persea americana tree, particularly the Mexican criollo variety. They have a lance-shaped form, a glossy dark green colour and a characteristic aniseed aroma with notes of fennel and pepper. They are used fresh or dried, whole or toasted and ground, in numerous dishes of the cuisines of central and southern Mexico: black and refried beans, mixiotes, mole de olla, barbacoa, salsa borracha, ayocotes, escamoles, chiles en nogada and various peasant stews. Their use is particularly rooted in Michoacán, the State of Mexico, Puebla, Oaxaca, Guerrero and Hidalgo, where they provide an aromatic profile reminiscent of anise without being identical. They are one of the few herbs of the Mexican recipe book whose aroma is immediately recognisable.

Origin and history

Avocado leaves are of pre-Hispanic origin and were used by the Nahua, Purépecha, Mixtec and other Mesoamerican peoples from remote times. Fray Bernardino de Sahagún documented the avocado ('ahuacatl' in Nahuatl) in the Florentine Codex, and the pre-Hispanic peoples used both the fruit and the leaves for culinary and medicinal purposes. The avocado is native to Mexico and Guatemala, particularly the state of Puebla, where archaeological remains more than 9,000 years old have been found. The species Persea americana var. drymifolia (the Mexican or criollo race) is the one that produces leaves with the characteristic aniseed aroma; other races (Guatemalan, Antillean) do not share this property. CONABIO documents the importance of the Mexican criollo avocado as a key plant genetic resource. Larousse Cocina records avocado leaves as an essential seasoning of the traditional recipe book. It is one of the integral uses of the tree that best expresses the pre-Hispanic use of every part of the plants.

Characteristic ingredients

Avocado leaves come exclusively from the Mexican or criollo race (Persea americana var. drymifolia), recognisable because the crushed leaves release an intense aniseed aroma. The leaves of the Hass avocado or of Guatemalan and Antillean races do not produce the same aroma and are not suitable as a traditional seasoning. They contain an essential oil rich in estragole (or methylchavicol), responsible for the aniseed aroma, along with eugenol and other terpene compounds. They also provide flavonoids and antioxidants. They are used fresh to wrap tamales and mixiotes; dried and toasted they are ground or used whole to perfume beans, broths and moles. Toasting them on a comal before use intensifies the aroma. Although estragole has been mentioned as a potentially toxic compound in high concentrations, the amounts used in traditional cooking (2-3 leaves per pot) are within safe levels when consumed occasionally. For beans they are added whole during cooking; for barbacoa and mixiotes they are used to wrap and flavour the meat during steaming.

Cultural significance

Avocado leaves are an essential piece of the aroma of the cuisine of central and southern Mexico. They define the flavour of the refried beans of Oaxaca and of many peasant stews. The traditional pit barbacoa of Hidalgo, the State of Mexico and Tlaxcala is flavoured with avocado leaves alongside maguey and other herbs. In Oaxaca they are essential in moles, tlayudas (beneath the comal), black beans and broths. In Michoacán cuisine, particularly in the Purépecha area, they are used in ayocotes, churipo and tatemados. They form part of the traditional Mexican cuisines declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, in which the integral use of the avocado tree as a pre-Hispanic resource is recognised. SADER promotes the conservation of the Mexican criollo avocado as a genetic resource against the monoculture of Hass. The leaves provide regional identity and are a cultural marker hard to reproduce outside the Mexican context, where some international cuisines have tried to adopt them with limited success.

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