Is it Hass or Haas? Does it rhyme with class or boss?
The name of this variety of avocado, though such a short name, often confuses people on its real spelling and pronunciation.
To set the record straight, it’s spelled HASS. And it rhymes with the word class. The variety was named after Southern California postman Rudolph Hass who planted the first seed in his grove back in the late 1920’s. His plan was to graft another variety onto it, but his repeated attempts didn’t take and he planned to cut the tree down. Fortunately, he was talked out it and it turned out to be a productive tree, with delicious fruit.
Hass’ own children preferred the taste of the new variety over the taste of the Fuerte variety, which was the variety most commonly grown back then. Apparently consumers did as well, and grocers favored it for the longer shelf life.
Hass avocados are characterized by their skin, which turns a dark purplish-black color when it is ripe. The fruit become a light green when it’s ready to eat. These avocados grow easily in some areas and can be harvested year-round.
Hass patented the variety in 1935, which was also the first patent on a tree. He continued to work as a postman and died in 1952. His namesake avocado variety lives on, and it now accounts for over 80% of all the avocados eaten in the world. It also accounts for 95% of the crops in California, and is the most widely grown variety of avocado in New Zealand. For Hass avocado growers and sellers, it generates more than $2 billion a year in revenue in just the United States.
The original tree stood for decades in front of Hass’ residence. The tree died was cut down in 2002 after a long fight with root rot.
So where did “Haas” come from? Haas is just a common misspelling that spread. The Hass variety is sometimes marketed as “Haas” but the original name will always remain “Hass” after a postman who planted that first tree in California. Thanks to Rudolph Hass, we can still enjoy this delicious and very popular type of avocado today.