GEM Avocado, NOT G.E.M. Gloria Tang Sze-wing, the hot singer 😂
Hass is the King of Avocado, GEM is the princesses of avocado (great-granddaughter). The GEM variety was developed by University of California Riverside researchers and named after a technician that help developing it, initials of Gray E. Martin. The new variety actually was patented and released in 2003.
Lots of reference shall be made in comparison to Hass as GEM was develop to be better / differentiate / fill in the void.
The Gem avocado tree is a semi-compact, vase shaped tree that bears the fruit mostly in clusters interior in the tree, GEM is also a more consistent producer. Gem avocados hold particularly well on the tree.
GEM has several of the positive attributes of Hass, including taste, size, color, productivity and seasonality, also matures later than Hass thus extending the season. GEM is described as "a little more oval or egg-shaped than Hass. It has the speckling on the skin. As it ripens, it will turn dark, and a lot of times the speckled lenticels will get a golden color speckle to it." This lenticels is actually pores through which gases are exchanged.
In taste tests conducted by Westfalia Fruit Estates, a South African company marketing GEM worldwide, the avocado variety scored better than Hass in terms of eating quality. Other surveys shows that it's as good as/ even better than Hass. Retail markets varies and in EU & US selling price is at premium compared to Hass due to the lower planted acreage.
A very promising variety of avocado for commercial planting.
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