If you haven’t already started, now’s the time to stock up on Hass and double down on the guacamole before Shepard season sets in.

The autumn avocado has already been spotted on supermarket shelves, threatening to ruin brunch dates and taco Tuesdays for the next three months of the year.

Shepard avocados, aka the “green menace”, are loathed by many for their rubbery tennis shoe texture and their inability to provide basic cues as to when they are ripe.

And since we’re on the subject, they’re also impossible to peel. They don’t just slip out of their skins like a good Hass, you have to peel them by hand, and let’s not even start on trying to get the seed out.

And, they’re not going away anytime soon. Apparently, 70 million Shepard avocados are expected to flood supermarkets from now until May – that’s three months without guacamole, prawn cocktails and California sushi rolls.

According to a poll conducted on our Instagram Stories yesterday, it turns out, not everybody seethes with hatred for the Shepard avocado. In fact, more than half the respondents were actually excited for Shepard season (although they may have been bots, we’re still checking).

Apparently, people love their rich, nutty flavour, buttery texture and their ability to stay green when cut, or so says a press release, likely sent from a Shepard itself.

So, which is it? Let’s settle this once and for all.

Related food news: Apparently you can freeze avocados and that’s one way to get around Shepard season