Guacamole

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines Guacamole as pureed or mashed avocado seasoned with condiments (helpful, huh?).  There are countless takes out there in cookbooks, personal recipe boxes and on the web for guacamole.  Some swear by a certain variety of onion others add tomatoes or swear against them, some add acid from lime or lemon and others leave it out all together arguing the acid spoils the balance of flavors.  Guacamole itself actually dates back to the Aztecs who referred to guacamole as ahuaca-mulli roughly meaning avocado sauce.  In fact, some suggest that the Aztecs even considered the avocado to be an aphrodisiac, if that is true no wonder this “guacamole sauce” is so popular.   I am sure that even the Aztecs had variations of ahuaca-mulli or guacamole depending on likes and dislikes as well as what ingredients were available to them at the time or the region they lived.  Whether we call our personal guacamole recipes “traditional” or “the perfect guacamole” they are all someone’s take on a fantastic dish, a dish that has a great deal of history.  To me, there are two rules that must be followed when making guacamole, first, always use ripe avocados.  I know its hard, you see that display of avocados at the store and immediately think ‘guacamole’ but you can’t you must have restraint.  Avocados do not ripen on the tree, instead they begin to ripen after they have been harvested, so the most likely situation for us is that those avocados at the local store are not yet ripe and may take a few days at home before we can use them.

The second rule actually rejects the very definition I presented at the beginning of this post, don’t puree the avocados, please.  Gently, mash the avocado, leaving some texture, you should still see lumps of avocado in the mixture.  If you follow those two rules, you are definitely off to a good start.

This particular recipe is my personal favorite.  I use red onions (I think they are prettier and I like the hint of sweetness they provide), I do not use tomatoes (I just do not think they add much) and I use both lime and lemon juice (I guess I don’t really agree with the whole losing balance thing).  The whole recipe comes together in about 10 minutes and between Adam and I the whole bowl of guacamole disappears in about the same amount of time.

For tips & Techniques for selecting and preparing avocados go to the Hass Avocado Board

To see where I found information or to learn more facts of Guacamole and its history go to Gourmet Sleuth and Associated Content