The secret to making the best guacamole is to keep it straightforward: all you need are ripe avocados and a few other tasty mix-ins. At your next gathering, use it as a dip, or simply spoon some on top of tacos for a quick and simple meal boost.
Guacamole! Did you know that each year, the United States consumes more than 2 billion pounds, or kilograms, of avocados? (Google it.) That comes to more than 7 pounds for each individual. Guacamole is perhaps the most popular dip in the United States, so I’m betting that most of those avocados are used to make it.
A Traditional Mexican Dish: Guacamole
Both the term “guacamole” and the dip itself have their roots in Mexico, a country that has a long history of avocado cultivation dating back thousands of years. The name comes from two Aztec Nahuatl words: ahuacatl, which means avocado, and molli, which means flower (sauce).
Components for a Quick and Easy Guacamole
All you really need to create guacamole is ripe avocados and salt. After that, a little lime or lemon juice—a touch of acidity—will help balance the richness of the avocado. If you choose, you can sprinkle some chopped cilantro, chilies, onion, or tomato on top of that.
How to Select Avocados That Have the Ideal Level of Ripeness
The secret to preparing guacamole that is absolutely flawless is to use avocados that have been picked when they are at the perfect stage of maturity. If it’s not ripe enough, the avocado will be unpleasantly tough and tasteless. If it’s let to get too ripe, the flavour will suffer.
To determine whether or not an avocado is ready to eat, give its skin a little gentle push. If the avocado has no give to it at all, then it is not ripe yet. When an avocado is ready to be eaten, there should be some give in it. If the avocado has a lot of give to it, then it is probably overripe and should not be eaten. In this instance, you should first test the flavour before using it.
How to Chop an Avocado
Cut an avocado in half lengthwise with a sharp chef’s knife, then twist the two halves apart. The pit will be on one side. To get rid of it, you can carefully tap your chef’s knife against the pit and twist it to loosen it. You can also cut the avocado into quarters and use your fingers or a spoon to take out the pit.
Guacamole Can Be Used In Other Ways
Guacamole can be used for more than just a dip at a party. It goes well on nachos and is a great topping or side dish for enchiladas, tacos, grilled salmon, or chicken cooked in the oven.
Guacamole is also great in food. Try putting some in your next tuna sandwich or deviled eggs.
How to Keep Guacamole Fresh
The best time to eat guacamole is right after it’s made. Once an avocado has been cut, it starts to oxidize and turn brown, just like an apple. But the acid in lime juice can help slow down this process when you add it to guacamole. And if you keep the guacamole in the right way, you can easily make it a few hours before a party.
The best way to keep guacamole green is to keep it away from the air. Put it in a container, cover it with plastic wrap, and press down on the plastic wrap to get rid of any air pockets. Make sure that any part of the guacamole that is touching the air is touching the plastic wrap and not the air. This will cut down on browning as much as possible.
This way, the guacamole can be kept in the fridge for up to three days. If the guacamole turns brown, you can scrape off the brown parts and throw them away, or you can mix them into the rest of the guacamole before serving.
Guacamole Variations
Once you know how to make basic guacamole, you can add strawberries, peaches, pineapple, mangoes, or even watermelon to change it up. One traditional Mexican guacamole has peach chunks and pomegranate seeds in it (a Diana Kennedy favorite). You can be creative with the guacamole you make at home.
The easiest way to make guacamole is to just mash avocados and add salt. Don’t stop making guacamole because you don’t have all the other ingredients.
Quick guacamole: To make guacamole very quickly, mix 1/4 cup of salsa with mashed avocados.
Have too few avocados? Add sour cream or cottage cheese to your guacamole dip if you don’t have enough avocados. Even if purists are horrified, so what? It tastes great still.
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice
- 2 to 4 tablespoons minced red onion or green onion that has been thinly sliced
- 1 to 2 serrano (or jalapeno) chilies, stems, and seeds removed and minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves and stem that are still soft
- Black pepper that has just been ground.
- 1/2 ripe tomato, chopped (optional)
- Slices of red radish or jicama to decorate (optional)
- To serve with tortilla chips
Procedure for the Preparation of Guacamole
1. Cut the avocado:
Split the avocados in two. Take out the stone. Use a dull knife to score the inside of the avocado, and then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. (See How to Cut an Avocado and Peel It.) Toss into a bowl.
2. Smash the flesh of the avocado:
Mash the avocado roughly with a fork. (Don’t overdo it! The guacamole should have some lumps in it.)
3. Taste and add the rest of the ingredients:
Sprinkle with lime (or lemon) juice and salt. The acid in the lime juice will help balance out the avocado’s richness and keep the avocados from turning brown.
Mix in the chopped onion, cilantro, chillis, and black pepper. Different chilli peppers have different levels of heat. So, start with half of one chilli pepper and add more until you get the level of heat you want.
Keep in mind that a lot of this is done to taste because the fresh ingredients vary. Start with this recipe and make changes to make it taste better.
4. Serve right away:
If you want to make guacamole a few hours ahead of time, put plastic wrap on the top and press down to cover it. This will keep air from getting in. Oxidation, which is caused by the oxygen in the air, will turn the guacamole brown.
Add slices of red radish or strips of jigama to the top. You can serve this with tortilla chips you bought at the store or ones you made yourself.
Keep leftover guacamole in the fridge for up to 3 days.
View As PDF
| Home | Homesteadmexicanfood |
| Guacamole: The Secrets To Its Perfect Recipe | Click Here |