Guacamole--what is it good for?

Cafe Society
61

I personally don’t make guac often, what I will do though is make pico de gallo with diced avacado and extra lime (to minimize browning). I will then place it on anything I’d put pico on - steaks, grilled or baked chicken, tacos, etc. I do plan on using it all in 48 hours, 72 MAX, and find that putting plastic wrap on top between uses -right down- in contact with the surfaces slows the browning enough to be manageable in that time frame.

Blending (with a fork or other tool) it down into a smooth or chunky place doesn’t work for me.

Caveat though - I only do this if I have decent ingredients for the rest. Fresh cilantro, serrano chiles (or fine diced habanero), fresh garden tomatoes, garlic, fresh onion, etc. The lowest quality ingredient can kill what would otherwise be tasty. And for commercial, store bought guac, it often does.

62

Smear it up your passed out friend’s ass crack. When they finally come to, they think they shit themselves.

Hilarity ensues.

63

There is a word for the mashup you describe.

That word is “guacamole”.

64

Not really. Guac usually has jalapeno, onion, garlic, and tomatoes mixed in. It’s not that it’s bad, and I’ll eat it if it’s there, but I prefer avocado without all the adornment.

65

My super quick guacamole recipe is a diced or mashed avocado mixed with some good salsa.

66

Some do. Not all do. I’ve never seen olive oil in guac, so that may stray it a bit from “guacamole.” According to Wikipedia, the very first description of guacamole was simply avocado, sugar, and lime juice. It also say the addition of tomatoes is “non-traditional.” Another source I read same limes weren’t even in the original pre-hispanic guacs as limes weren’t indigenous to the area.

In an old Cuban dictionary from 1885 (Diccionario Cubano by Jose Miguel Macias), it says that it’s made from avocado, salt, oil, and vinegar. So maybe your recipe would qualify just fine. But many recipes around that time (in Spanish) do include tomatoes, so I’m convinced it’s necessarily un-traditional, but it clear that there’s a range of simple to complex avocado pastes that can be called guacamole. As I said, no tomato in mine, that’s for sure!

67

Sounds like fodder for a flame war, much like the arguments over what “chili” is. :laughing:

68

Should be “not convinced.” I looked in my modern Tacopedia: Enciclopedia del taco, and their guac include avocados, tomatoes, lime, onion, salt. (No garlic in that one.) At any rate, there’s a range. Like even when you get to something as purist as Texas chili, there’s arguments whether tomato belongs in that, not just the usual bean argument. Some even say no onion. It’s all good!

69

Just about the time I was born, my paternal grandparents fulfilled a lifelong dream of moving to the Central Coast of California from the old potato farm in Idaho. They immediately planted a Haas avocado tree.

The tree grew to maturity, but it wouldn’t produce fruit. My grandfather consulted the nursery for advice on how to fix the problem. The nursery said to beat the tree briefly with a chain. They explained that the tree had to be “frightened” into producing its seeds.

My grandfather was skeptical and felt silly, but he did as they advised. No word of a lie, that tree bore avocados like nobody’s business ever after. And they were amazing, delicious, buttery, flavorful perfect avocados! I grew up on these and enjoyed them thoroughly, never realizing they weren’t the norm. Our family dined off that tree for decades.

My Dad went to college in New Mexico, and that’s where he learned to make guacamole. He told me that “true” guacamole contained only avocados, lemon juice and salt. We added a bit of finely chopped onion, but acknowledged it was a deviation from the pure product.

Over the years, I’ve made guacamole all sorts of ways in varying combinations with cilantro, garlic, a bit of sour cream, salsa, chili powder, smoked paprika, lime in place of lemon, etc. But honestly, my favorite is still rough-mashed avocados with a bit of lemon juice, some finely chopped onion and salt. The rest is just accommodating the preferences of others.

I’ve never found Haas avocados as good as that beloved old family tree’s, though. Damn, they were special!

70

Of course there are a hundreds of ways to make guacamole and always have been. There never was a single ur-recipe.

71

They don’t make ur- like they used to.

72

I haven’t used it in years, but my “secret ingredient” for guac used to be a drop of liquid smoke.

73

A college roommate of mine used bacon. It wasn’t bad, just kind of outside what I wanted when I wanted guacamole.

74

No, that’s guacamole mixed with pico de gallo.

75

Well, I don’t claim to be a guacamole expert, but I just looked at ten recipes online and they all had most or all of those ingredients.

76

Then all ten of those recipes are wrong. Chunky guacamole is an aberration.

77

I surrender. You’re right and the rest of the guacamole-eating universe is wrong. It’s certainly not worth the time spent here arguing about it.

78

I think guacamole is avocado, citrus juice and salt, mashed enough to be scoopable but not soupy. You can put other stuff in and it’s still guacamole. Like pizza or hot dogs, I guess. What would you tell someone saying, “I don’t like hot dogs, too much sauerkraut, cream cheese, hot peppers and mayo.”

For dipping chips, I’d rather the effort and expense went into an interesting salsa.

I usually bring a week’s worth of lunches to work with me on Mondays and my routine for a long time has, more often than, not included two avocados. I eat half a day, four days a week, slice with a little salt. At times, I’ll bring a lime and squeeze a little juice or maybe a grilled jalapeno but avocado’s really best almost plain.

79

This. Avocado is what makes guacamole guacamole, not tomatoes or onions or hot sauce or peas or anything else you’re adding to it. Cut an avocado open, scoop out the flesh, and smash it with a fork - guess what? That’s guacamole.

80

Well, they did go out of business around the 5th century BC. Any product left on the shelves is likely to be mighty stale.