(plucked string music) - Almost everything you've been told about how to choose an avocado, how to ripen it, and how to cut it is wrong.

But we've come straight to the source, a California family that's been farming avocados for decades, and they're about to school us on America's trendiest fruit.

Avocados are an ancient Mexican fruit.

They weren't even grown in California until the 1900s and it took generations for American eaters to really embrace them.

First, there was the name.

The Aztecs called then ahuacatl, which means testicle fruit.

American farmers tried alligator pear and butter pear.

Finally they went with avocado.

The second issue was sweetness.

Whoever liked a fruit that wasn't sweet?

Avocados are like olives, they get their flavor from natural oils, not sugars.

In fact, the first person to ever eat an avocado was a brave soul.

These things are rock solid on the tree and they will never ever soften until they come off.

By California law, avocados are not allowed to be picked until they reach at least 8% oil content.

If they're picked before that, they'll never soften.

- Okay, and yeah, yeah, okay?

Alright I did it.

It's really, it's difficult to see these because they're green, right?

(speaking in foreign language) the leaves are green and the avocados are green.

Have to keep up.

How long does it take to do a whole tree?

(speaking in foreign language) So it would take him 30 minutes to do this whole tree.

It would take me 90 minutes to do this tree, I think.

Okay, so you put the blade against the stem and then you cut and it falls into the bag, okay.

Okay, that looks like it's difficult.

Did it work, did I get anything?

Where is the root?

Aw yay, did it!

This would take me a year to do.

They would fire me in a heartbeat.

The curve of these blades go right across the top of the avocado, so they're perfect.

Perfectly designed for this, especially for klutzes like me.

Alright, let's go.

That was the easiest part of the job.

Thank you.

The Holtz family has been farming this land for over 40 years and the oldest trees are over 40 feet tall.

They grow Hass avocados.

Also, fuertes, bacons, and reeds.

(energetic music) I'm on my way to meet Mimi Holtz to get all her avocado tips and tricks.

Mimi, this is beautiful.

- Glad you like it.

- First up, busting the big myth on how to choose an avocado.

Okay Mimi, there are hacks all over the internet that you can tell a ripe avocado by picking out this little nub, is that true?

- No, that's not true.

This little nub, or the button, is actually a piece of the stem and the stem and the skin protect the fruit.

Once you remove either the stem or the skin, then the air, the oxygen can get into the avocado and turn it brown.

This part will probably get riper quicker.

And when they get it home they're gonna be mad because they'll have to cut this end off and eat the rest of it.

- Yeah, so don't do that.

Don't ruin my avocado.

So the only way of telling if they're ripe is to feel it.

And you're looking for?

- Just to barely give.

- Okay.

- Not be mushy.

- Then it's overripe.

- But not rock hard, either.

- Okay.

- Alright, it's a perfect, perfect moment.

The best way to choose an avocado, Mimi says, is to buy a firm green one and ripen it yourself on the kitchen counter.

Avocados should never go in the fridge.

The cold changes their flavor.

You wouldn't put your olive oil in the fridge, would you?

Then, Mimi gave me the skinny on how to best remove the flesh.

- Okay, so some people think that you should just take a spoon and scoop it out.

- That's what I do.

- And it's okay if you wanna eat it that way.

But if you wanna get all the nutrients and make sure that you don't get any of the bad spots, it's better to just peel it away from, and then you get a beautiful piece of fruit.

- (gasps) That was amazing, it came off so easily.

I rarely see this darker green color because it usually comes away with the peel.

It's so good.

It's creamy, it's bright.

It's almost fruity.

You know, you forget that avocado is a fruit, like an apple, like a pear.

It's always like put in this other category.

- I'm tempted to dig right in let's have a-- - Do it, come on.

After you.

An avocado farm is like no other farm I've ever been to.

The mature trees have grown so big it's like walking through a magical forest.

The ground is thick with fallen leaves.

I have to duck around and under branches.

In March, the trees are laden with mature fruit, but there are also buds, lots of tiny buds, ready to bloom and become next year's crop.

99% of what Mimi's family now grows is Hass.

Why, because that's what the market demands.

The California avocado industry started with the fuerte, but it's got a very thin skin, so it's more easily bruised.

The bumpier, thicker skinned Hass can take a lot more knocks without showing blemishes.

And since we want avocados no matter where we live, these can be shipped from California or Mexico without much loss.

Back on the farm, the Holtz family faces all kinds of challenges, from insects to strong winter winds that knock the fruit off the tree.

But the biggest issue is keeping their trees hydrated.

Extended drought has caused the state to ration water to farmers who say it's nearly impossible for them to care for their trees with that little water.

Some, like the Holtzes, have drilled their own wells.

Others have had to stump their trees.

It's a heartbreaking sight to see these once lush, beautiful trees cut down to the stump.

As stumps, they require much less water.

It's a tough decision for farmers.

It means shrinking their profits for several years.

But, the amazing thing about avocado trees is that they can recover.

They can grow back.

And the ones that regrow from old stumps grow more vigorously.

It's inspiring.

New hope grown from old roots.

(gentle orchestral music)