Guacamole, like salsa was first made by the Aztecs. The main ingredient in guacamole is the avocado. The word avocado probably originated from a word in a ancient dialect of the Aztec culture meaning testicles, but don’t let this put you off from enjoying this wonderful food. Guacamole is a relatively common condiment in Mexican food culture. It has a rich, cool, indulgent taste that perfectly offsets the hot spiciness of some Mexican dishes. Most avocados here in the United States of America are grown in southern California. Some are grown in Florida but are considered by gourmets an inferior product compared to the Californian avocado.
Guacamole is so easy to make and personalize that there is never a reason to buy any store brand. Some of the top reasons not to buy guacamole from a store are as follows.
One – You can’t control the amount of salt in a store bought guacamole. Food companies of the world uses salt as a preservative in their products. Guacamole is no exception. Salt is a great preservative and a small amount is needed for health reasons but as a rule our culture uses way more salt than we really need. That extra salt can have some bad consequences for your health in the long term. You can make a really good guacamole without all that salt. If you add any peppers to your guacamole your salt will go further because salt and hot spices tend to increase the apparent intensity of both in my opinion.
Two – The price of any store bought guacamole is higher than the value of the items in the recipe. Guacamole is made from widely available ingredients that are cheaply acquired if you shop your farmers markets regularly. The avocado will be the most pricey of the ingredients and even these are cheap at certain times of the year.
Three – Store bought guacamole has to many preservatives in it. No matter what the label says, to stay fresh in those jars and cans for the length of time that the stuff is in the supermarkets it has some form of preservative in it.
Four – Many products now contain monosodium glutamate (MSG) or some other flavor enhancer. Most guacamole brands are no exception to this. MSG has both pros and cons. I’ve read it was unsafe and that it was considered completely safe as well. I’m of the mind that as long as scientists are studying this chemical with the intent on proving it is not fit for human consumption I’ll avoid it as much as possible. Of course the parent company will always say their product is safe. Its hard to believe someone who has everything to gain by winning your trust.
Now on to the reason you read this article to begin with, the recipe. This recipe makes a relatively large amount of guacamole but it scales easily so feel free to play with the amounts as needed.
Ingredients
4 large avocados. Make sure your avocados are ripe as this is the perfect avocado to make really good guacamole with. A ripe avocado will have a little give when you press gently on the skin of the vegetable If there is much give then the avocado is too ripe and should not be purchased or used.. If there is no give then the avocado is not ripe enough and will not have a very good flavor.
2 large tomatoes ( diced ) Choose a flavorful variety. Many of the long lasting variety’s sold in supermarkets have compromised flavor for durability. You will be able to find much better tasting tomatoes at your farmers market.
1 medium onion ( diced ) White or red onion will do. Choose a onion with a sharp taste as this will give a superior flavor to your really good guacamole. Usually the stronger an onion smells the sharper the taste of the onion will be.
Cut your avocados in half and discard any seeds you find and scoop the flesh out of the skin shell. Mash the avocado flesh until its a smooth texture. Then add your tomatoes, onion, jalapeno peppers, lime juice and garlic for your really good guacamole. Remember to seed the jalapenos if you want a much milder guacamole as the heat of a jalapeno is in its seeds mostly. Mix thoroughly and chill for four to eight hours before serving.
Serve really good guacamole chilled. American’s tend to serve guacamole with corn chips and it makes a great party treat or appetizer. However there is so much you can do with this Mexican treat I’ll leave it up to your imagination as how to serve it.
