Guacamole or Avocado's True Purpose

Ahhh avocados. Such a wonderful fruit. And while it can be used for a variety of things, I let those suckers ripen up and then smash them down into oblivion. Hmm … I just realized my first two posts involve mashing fruit. I promise that won't always be the case :)

Anyway, a good guacamole is pretty simple; anyone can do it. You just need fresh ingredients and a little time.

There are a variety of avocados out there and your local market may sell more than one type. One of the most common are Hass avocados; primarily because they are available year round. They're on the small-medium side, but are very good for guacamole. When unripened, they'll be firm to the touch and have a dark green skin. As they ripen, their skin will start to turn brown or purplish and they will become soft to the touch. You don't want to wait until they're too soft, so keep an eye on them as they tend to ripen fairly quickly.

If your market has other types of avocados, try using them instead. Just be sure to adjust the recipe if they're a bit larger. I've used Zutano avocados, which are much larger, and some other California varieties before and they are all very good. Each type has a slightly different taste, so experiment and see which you prefer. Personally I enjoy a good Hass avocado, so for this recipe, I'll be using that. You can find a nice list of avocado types by clicking here.

Ingredients

2 Hass Avocados
1 Teaspoon Lime Juice
1 Tomato Diced
Sweet Onion Diced (equal amount to tomato)
1 Tablespoon Chopped Cilantro
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Hot Pepper Diced (optional)

This recipe will yield an average sized bowl. You'll have to double it at the very least for parties.

While I have measurements listed for this recipe, I tend to eyeball most of the ingredients and adjust it as needed. So, feel free to mess around with it. You should also try adding other ingredients to give it a whole new spin.

Instructions

So, let's get started. This recipe is very easy to crank out and shouldn't take much time. Grab your avocados and slice them in half. Throw out the pit and spoon out the green interior. You should be able to scoop it out almost entirely in one chunk. Then mash the flesh in a bowl until it's to your liking. Some people prefer it a bit chunkier while others like it smoother. It's really up to you. Once that's done add in your lime juice and stir it together.

Now, take your tomato, dice it up into little chunks, and set aside. Take your sweet onion, dice it up just enough to equal the amount of diced tomatoes, and set that aside as well. You can use any onion you prefer, but I like using sweet onions. You can also add more onions or tomatoes if you prefer, but I find an equal amount of both seems to work well.

Take a couple leaves of cilantro and chop them up until you have about a tablespoon.

For the tomato, onion, and cilantro, just eyeball it. This isn't rocket science or baking, so have fun with it. Just remember, to taste it as you go. Mix the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, salt, and pepper into your avocados.

At this point, I add in the hot peppers. Typically I use jalapeños but you can use whatever you prefer (habañero, chipotle) and as much as you like or none at all. That's all there is to it. Have it as a dip or spread it on a sandwich.

I find guacamole tastes a lot better fresh and at room temperature. So, for a party, you should make it the same day, right before serving. If you're just making it for yourself and it's going to last a couple days, scoop it into a Tupperware and cover it with plastic wrap. The point of this is to prevent browning, which I'll get into more below.

And lastly be adventurous with guacamole. This is your basic recipe and is a foundation for what you can do. Think of it like a base tomato sauce, which you can then add other ingredients to make it into a whole new sauce. Try adding other fruits such as mangoes or papaya, herbs such as thyme or mint, whatever you want to take it to the next level. Experiment, make it your own, and most importantly have fun :)

Ugh, Brown Guacamole

Anyone who's worked with avocados knows they have a liking to go brown. Avocados will turn brown fairly quickly when exposed to the oxygen in the air and no one likes a brown guacamole. This process is known as oxidation and is pretty common with most fruits and vegetables. You've probably noticed that when you eat an apple, the flesh starts to turn brown. The same thing occurs in avocados. What's actually happening is due to an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which in the presence of oxygen will stimulate a chemical reaction of phenolic compounds. Phenolic compounds are responsible for the color of most plants (along with other things) and the chemical reaction that occurs causes the flesh to turn brown.

Polyphenol Oxidase Reaction

That said, it's possible to slow down the browning process. The lime we've added is for more than just flavor. It's acidity will help to slow down the enzyme. Enzymes are proteins and protein molecules don't work well in environments higher or lower than their optimal pH. The optimal pH can vary between enzymes, but the point is that by lowering the pH, the enzyme's function will be greatly affected. So by adding the lime, we're increasing the acidity (lowering the pH), which will decrease the enzyme activity and slow down the browning. Boiling the avocado would be even better since it would break the bonds in the enzyme's three dimensional structure effectively killing it. Unfortunately boiling an avocado would result in an unpleasant texture and not at all what we want for the guacamole. So slowing it down via acidity is the best option. Feel free to add more lime juice if you prefer, either for flavor or its acidity.

The addition of the acid is not enough to stop the oxidation however; just slow it down somewhat. To slow it down even further, you want to block as much exposure to oxygen as possible. Some people leave the pit in the guacamole, but really all that does is block the oxygen, so unless your pit is going to cover the entire surface, it's not going to be ideal. The best thing to do is to take some plastic wrap and press it against the entire surface of the guacamole. Think of it like making a pudding and you're trying to prevent a skin from forming. It's the same idea.

I'll often use plastic sandwich bags instead of plastic wrap when I make guacamole. I tend to have a lot in the house that nobody ever uses, so I simply cut one open and press it against the guacamole. Since it's so thick, it does a remarkable job of preventing oxidation and keeps the guacamole nice and green. Whenever you take some out, just peel back the plastic, scoop out your potion, and then press the plastic back over the guacamole. Do that and you'll avoid that nasty brown guacamole which, let's be honest, no one wants to eat.