Sometimes it's all about portions. Take the Coke mini-can, for example; they're about 50 less calories than your standard 12-ounce can, and about 15 grams less sugar. You get your fix without feeling entirely awful (though maybe you should give up soda entirely).
Now, avocados are the the latest thing to be marketed with a downsizing ethos, as Trader Joe's has begun selling "Teeny Tiny Avocados." These Hass avocados come six to a bag, and each is a little larger than a lime:
And because comparing small things to other small things is fun, here's a picture of them next to a tablespoon:
To be sure, there's a matter of functionality here. As noted by Trader Joe's, these "single-serving" avocados are just enough for a personal salad or your morning fix of avocado toast. This means there's "No waste, no wrapping up the other half for another time and hoping it’s still good when you’re ready to eat it." Also, the entire bag is good for a bowl of guacamole. All this leads us to wonder: are these the perfect sized avocados when it comes to human consumption? Should we really be designating these as "Teeny Tiny" avocados? When, maybe, we should re-tool our thinking of regular-sized avocados and refer to them as "Lumbering Behemoth" avocados?
Outside of practical matters, the avocados are pretty adorable—like the Bobby and Cindy Bradys of the plant kingdom—and thus very Instagram-ready. But do they come to us via some nefarious lab experiment in which regular avocados were harmed? Actually, the tiny avocados are simply a product of less-than-desirable growing conditions. As reported at NPR back in 2013 (when a large batch of tiny avocados cropped up), Southern California had been subjected to low rainfall, "erratic bee activity" during the spring, and unseasonably cool weather, all of which conspired to produce golf-ball sized avocados. Considering how we got record-setting rainfall these past months (enough to cancel out a historical drought) it's perhaps best to grab these tiny avocados as soon as you can.
Also, with all the surrounding fanfare, it's perhaps important to advise you to be careful as you're slicing through those fun-sized treats, as they're possibly even more conducive to "avocado hand."
Teeny Tiny Avocados can be found at Trader Joe's stores and are sold for $2.69 in West Coast and Texas stores. They're $2.99 everywhere else.
