What is a small avocado?

May 12, 2018 8:35 AM

I do not have a food scale so cannot use weight as a measure, but want to know in inches. I realize this is very inexact.

So, inexactly: What is considered a "small" vs "medium" Hass avocado? For example, I have some avocados that are 3" length and about 4" around at the widest point. Would that be a small or a medium avocado? Does anyone have an idea of approx. how much an avocado that size weighs?

*To save well-meaning energy/ time, some things that I do not need to know here: that avocados are healthy fat, that eating an avocado without measuring it is fine in a healthy diet, etc etc. I know and agree with all that. I just need to know how to figure out whether we're using small or medium avocados for something, for a specific reason, and don't have a food scale, so wondered if someone else might know how to estimate this based on the fruit's inches. Thanks!!

posted by velveeta underground to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

That sounds small to me. Sometimes when I have a hard time calculating sizes, I google "What does 100 calories of X look like" to give me a good idea. Avocado is #21 on this list, so maybe it will help you estimate?
posted by jessamyn at 8:45 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

3” long is small
4” is medium
5” is large
Circumference is irrelevant.
This is my definitive opinion.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:50 AM on May 12, 2018 [5 favorites]

I think those are small, based on eating a lot of avocados.

If this isn't a recipe question, my long term avocado solution was actually to take one of my average avocados, slice it up and measure, then compare to the nutrition information for one cup of sliced avocado.
posted by Frowner at 8:58 AM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

Wow, 3" in length is tiny! Or definitely small. Trader Joe's is selling bags of "teeny tiny" avocados and I think they're about that size.
posted by batter_my_heart at 9:29 AM on May 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

I bought a bag of the Trader Joe’s little avocados, and they were about 75 grams of edible avocado each (so 75g with peel and pit removed). I think they were about three inches long, but I’m not sure about that. They were remarkably consistent in weight, though! Not sure if that helps.
posted by insectosaurus at 9:32 AM on May 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: So, avocados have a weird sizing system that is more like gauges than s-m-l but this scale compares official size by length and yield. I would say 3" or just about 1/2 cup of flesh (because seed size matters too) would be the largest of the "small" avocados.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:35 AM on May 12, 2018 [8 favorites]

I measured my Trader Joe's "Teeny Tiny Avocados" for you. 3.5" long and 7" in diameter around the thickest part.

The avocado you describe is technically "a bit smaller than teeny tiny."
posted by sockermom at 11:38 PM on May 12, 2018 [2 favorites]