The avocado is arguably the most versatile fruit in the world. It can be used in soups, drinks, salads, dips, ice cream — and if you pop the pit and cut it in half, you've got the latest, coolest, trendiest ring box. Yes, thanks to Amsterdam-based food stylist, author and avocado aficionado Colette Dike, the wonder fruit has caught the attention of millennials ready to pop the question.
On February 10, Dike posted to her Instagram page a photo of a diamond engagement ring pressed into the gooey core of an "avo box." Accompanying the photo was the following caption: “Tag someone who should propose like this.” She used the hashtags "avobox" and "avocadoproposal."
The post went viral with 10,840 likes and 2,310 comments. What's more, the post stirred the interest of giant media outlets, such as The Today Show, ESPN and the Daily Mail.
Reactions to Dike's Instagram post were generally positive, humorous and good-natured.
One Instagram user wrote, “I avoca-DO,” while a second chimed in, "BEST EVER."
A third tagged her boyfriend and wrote, "I do! Only if he brought a spoon, though."
A few were not so kind due to the fact that avocados are notoriously mushy and their bright green hue quickly turns brown once they're cut open.
One Instagram user called the idea "ridiculous, dumb and pathetic" while another noted sarcastically, "Here, put on this slimy ring."
Although Dike is getting the credit for making the "avobox" into a phenomenon, The Today Show's website noted that Instagram user Taylor Selby in October 2016 posted a photo of her now-fiancé on bended knee, proposing with a ring embedded in a slightly overripe avocado.
Avocados originated in south-central Mexico more than 7,000 years ago, and although the Aztecs associated avocados with fertility, they were not likely used for ring boxes at that time.
A single avocado tree can produce 500 avocados each year, with an output of more than 200 pounds of fruit. About 95% of U.S. avocado production comes from Southern California. Fallbrook, Calf., claims to be the "Avocado Capital of the World" and the State of California's official fruit is — drumroll, please — the avocado.
Credit: Image courtesy of Colette Dike via Instagram/fooddeco.