reactor
Well-known member
Any of the AW.org cooks out there have a really good recipe for guacamole?
Thanks,
Barry
Thanks,
Barry
guacamole
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It's just smashed avocado. Add salt and (white) pepper to taste. If you like, you can add some chunky salsa to it, but go easy so you don't thin it out too much. A little lime juice (or lemon is OK) will keep it looking fresh, or if you're making a big batch, save the the pits and mix in with the guacamole and it won't turn brown.
Also, sometimes the prepackaged already smashed stuff works out to be cheaper than whole avocados (particularly when you factor in that you're paying for pits). I have some of that in the freezer right now. Just check the packaging for ingredients. The brands I've seen have no additives or just a couple of natural/organic ones.
Also, sometimes the prepackaged already smashed stuff works out to be cheaper than whole avocados (particularly when you factor in that you're paying for pits). I have some of that in the freezer right now. Just check the packaging for ingredients. The brands I've seen have no additives or just a couple of natural/organic ones.
Like Any Good Texan . . .
I do mine to taste. The basic ingredients are avocados, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, a little chile powder and either lemon or lime juice (freshly squeezed, please).
If you want to get a little fancy, you can add some diced tomatoes, diced onions (I like green onions, yellow onions or red), some diced fresh jalapenos with the seeds and membranes removed, and some chopped cilantro.
Add/adjust your seasonings to taste and you’ll have yourself an excellent guacamole!
Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Bryan
I do mine to taste. The basic ingredients are avocados, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, a little chile powder and either lemon or lime juice (freshly squeezed, please).
If you want to get a little fancy, you can add some diced tomatoes, diced onions (I like green onions, yellow onions or red), some diced fresh jalapenos with the seeds and membranes removed, and some chopped cilantro.
Add/adjust your seasonings to taste and you’ll have yourself an excellent guacamole!
Good luck, and let us know how it goes!
Bryan
reactor
Well-known member
quacamole
Thanks Ralph and Bryan. Do you recommend making it in a blender?
Thanks Ralph and Bryan. Do you recommend making it in a blender?
no no no no, Far too much pureeing. Mash with fork/potato masher,
I make mine by memory. For each avocado, peel it, mash it with a fork(it doesn’t need to be pureed some small chunks are desirable) add 1 tbs. salsa, 1 scant tbs sour cream, a dash of salt, dash of garlic powder, and a couple of shakes Tabasco sauce. If I’m going to serve it right away with no leftovers I don’t add lemon or lime juice. But if its gonna sit out as a dip, or kept as left overs for a day or 2 add juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime. I prefer the flavor of guacamole without lemon or lime so I usually only make as much as will be eaten right away.
Just up the amounts for more. Using 1 avocado you’ll end up with about 3/4 cup. And of course use or omit flavoring as desired. The real star of guacamole is the avocado anyway.
Eddie
Just up the amounts for more. Using 1 avocado you’ll end up with about 3/4 cup. And of course use or omit flavoring as desired. The real star of guacamole is the avocado anyway.
Eddie
Ditto x2 on the mashing instead of blending or processing. You want it chunky, not puree smooth.
I concur with the others. Make sure you use ripe avocados and just mash them with a fork.
Bryan
Bryan
Garlic powder is the work of the devil. Use fresh garlic.
Long ago, I made some guacamole in a molcajete (a Mexican mortar and pestle made of lava stone), and now no one will let me make it any other way!!
In the molcajete, pound the following ingredients with a little salt into a rough paste. I add each ingredient in the following order, mashing each before adding the next.
1 small clove of garlic
4 serrano chiles, diced
¼ onion, diced
Some chopped cilantro
The end result looks like watery pesto. You can just as easily grind everything up in a blender—I still do, when no one is watching, with a pint jar and my 1950s Oster—but the texture is not the same.
A lot of people just finely chop all the ingredients, which is also very good—basically mashed-up avocados with pico de gallo. We’re in Mexico right now, and that’s what we get at the taquerías about half the time.
Add:
A little lime juice
3 very ripe avocados
Pound the avocados to break them up a bit, but not too much. The guacamole should be chunky.
You can put some diced tomato on top or fold it into the guacamole. Call me crazy, but I don’t like tomatoes with mine.
Diana Kennedy INSISTS on no garlic and no lime juice, but 1) all the Mexicans I know use both, and 2) I like it that way!!
In the molcajete, pound the following ingredients with a little salt into a rough paste. I add each ingredient in the following order, mashing each before adding the next.
1 small clove of garlic
4 serrano chiles, diced
¼ onion, diced
Some chopped cilantro
The end result looks like watery pesto. You can just as easily grind everything up in a blender—I still do, when no one is watching, with a pint jar and my 1950s Oster—but the texture is not the same.
A lot of people just finely chop all the ingredients, which is also very good—basically mashed-up avocados with pico de gallo. We’re in Mexico right now, and that’s what we get at the taquerías about half the time.
Add:
A little lime juice
3 very ripe avocados
Pound the avocados to break them up a bit, but not too much. The guacamole should be chunky.
You can put some diced tomato on top or fold it into the guacamole. Call me crazy, but I don’t like tomatoes with mine.
Diana Kennedy INSISTS on no garlic and no lime juice, but 1) all the Mexicans I know use both, and 2) I like it that way!!
Hi Barry,
So many great variations already mentioned here. Like others, I do mine to taste but always just use a shallow bowl and a dinner fork to mash the avocado and combine the seasonings. Mine is generally:
Avocado
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Lime juice (just a little - in addition to giving it a touch of acidity it will also prevent it from oxidizing and turning dark, although it usually doesn't last that long!)
Optional - a little finely diced onion (I like to use a red onion if I have one on hand)
Sorry I can't give you exact measurements as it's all to taste, so use a small amount of seasonings to start, and increase to suit your own taste.
Get out those tortilla chips and enjoy!! I also love this spread on toasted sourdough bread!
So many great variations already mentioned here. Like others, I do mine to taste but always just use a shallow bowl and a dinner fork to mash the avocado and combine the seasonings. Mine is generally:
Avocado
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Lime juice (just a little - in addition to giving it a touch of acidity it will also prevent it from oxidizing and turning dark, although it usually doesn't last that long!)
Optional - a little finely diced onion (I like to use a red onion if I have one on hand)
Sorry I can't give you exact measurements as it's all to taste, so use a small amount of seasonings to start, and increase to suit your own taste.
Get out those tortilla chips and enjoy!! I also love this spread on toasted sourdough bread!
When I stated in my post about making Guacamole that I make it by memory, its because I started making it this way in ‘82 when we went on our first vacation in Santa Barbara, Calif.
We’d gone on a drive and stopped at a grocery store in Montecito, where we bought some avocados, chips and other items to make guacamole. Back at the hotel I made the guac in a small plastic bowl from our picnic hamper. Since I only had garlic powder, thats what I used. We both liked the flavor of this impromptu vacation guacamole so much that I’ve made it the same way every since them.
I’m a firm believer in the adage, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Personally, I prefer the garlic powder in this treat better than fresh garlic because its more subtle and doesn’t overpower the star of the show, the avocados.
That was a wonderful vacation and a wonderful memory.
BTW, on the way to that grocery store we saw Burl Ives driving a silver AMC Pacer, an ugly car in my opinion.
Eddie
[this post was last edited: 5/11/2021-12:47]
We’d gone on a drive and stopped at a grocery store in Montecito, where we bought some avocados, chips and other items to make guacamole. Back at the hotel I made the guac in a small plastic bowl from our picnic hamper. Since I only had garlic powder, thats what I used. We both liked the flavor of this impromptu vacation guacamole so much that I’ve made it the same way every since them.
I’m a firm believer in the adage, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Personally, I prefer the garlic powder in this treat better than fresh garlic because its more subtle and doesn’t overpower the star of the show, the avocados.
That was a wonderful vacation and a wonderful memory.
BTW, on the way to that grocery store we saw Burl Ives driving a silver AMC Pacer, an ugly car in my opinion.
Eddie
[this post was last edited: 5/11/2021-12:47]
Leave the pit in!
As others have said: Fork only, NO blender or food processor!
Slightly chunky = Good!
With or W/O lime/lemon juice, put the pit(s) back in the guacamole after mixing, surprisingly it prevents it from turning brown!
As others have said: Fork only, NO blender or food processor!
Slightly chunky = Good!
With or W/O lime/lemon juice, put the pit(s) back in the guacamole after mixing, surprisingly it prevents it from turning brown!
Yes Ralph and both Kevin’s, leaving the pits in the bowl does prevent browning of the guac. It never lasts long enough in our home to get brown, but if you’re making a large amount of guac that you plan to hold, always leave the pits in the bowl, its does make a difference in keeping it fresh tasting and looking.
I learned this about 30 years ago when our Dept. Director, a Latino women brought a huge bowl of guacamole to a dept. potluck with several pits in the bowl. Several of us asked why she did this and she gave use the 411 about the pits preventing browning. Ya learn something new everyday.
BTW, I always use that little dollop of sour cream in guacamole because it complements the avocados nicely and it stretches the guacamole a bit giving you more bang for your buck. Plus the slight acidity of the sour cream also helps to prevent browning.
Eddie
[this post was last edited: 5/11/2021-13:44]
I learned this about 30 years ago when our Dept. Director, a Latino women brought a huge bowl of guacamole to a dept. potluck with several pits in the bowl. Several of us asked why she did this and she gave use the 411 about the pits preventing browning. Ya learn something new everyday.
BTW, I always use that little dollop of sour cream in guacamole because it complements the avocados nicely and it stretches the guacamole a bit giving you more bang for your buck. Plus the slight acidity of the sour cream also helps to prevent browning.
Eddie
[this post was last edited: 5/11/2021-13:44]
Back in the late '70s I knew a guy who married into a family that grew avocados for Calavo. He and his wife had divorced, but he retained the section of avocado orchard in Carpinteria that the family had given to them, and the modern '70s home with natural wood exterior and a big deck with a hot tub.
Another friend of mine was a pilot, and we would fly down to Santa Barbara and then hang out at this guy's house amid the avocados. The rule was, don't pick any of them, as any fruit on the trees "belonged" to Calavo. Any fruit that had fallen was fair game, and generally speaking, avocados aren't ripe until they fall anyway, so we'd go out and gather them up and make big batches of guacamole, more or less subsisting on guacamole and margaritas the whole time we were there. That never got old!
Another friend of mine was a pilot, and we would fly down to Santa Barbara and then hang out at this guy's house amid the avocados. The rule was, don't pick any of them, as any fruit on the trees "belonged" to Calavo. Any fruit that had fallen was fair game, and generally speaking, avocados aren't ripe until they fall anyway, so we'd go out and gather them up and make big batches of guacamole, more or less subsisting on guacamole and margaritas the whole time we were there. That never got old!
Speaking of Avocados
the California Haas variety of avocados are without doubt the very best avocados, period. Sorry, Florida, but your avocados can’t hold a candle to California’s Haas avocados. The flesh of Haas avocados is rich and buttery in texture and flavor. The avocados from the Southeast of the USA are not as rich in flavor, and sometimes even a little watery.
Several years ago there was some sort of blight that hit the California Haas crop and for a year almost we couldn’t buy a Haas avocado for love or money. The only avocados to be had were the variety from Florida, that are larger, with lighter, smoother skin and very large pits, sometimes more pit than flesh and a very bland flavor, due to their lower fat content.
I even noticed that the flesh was at times almost rubbery. I tried to mash one with a fork, and it was ripe, but you could have fooled me, it just wouldn’t mash. I bought a few and then just stopped buying avocados altogether until the Haas avocados were back in the store. And this was very hard to do! We have avocados everyday, either on our salads or in sandwiches. We both love them and they are also a very healthy fruit to eat besides being delicious.
Eddie
[this post was last edited: 5/11/2021-18:35]
the California Haas variety of avocados are without doubt the very best avocados, period. Sorry, Florida, but your avocados can’t hold a candle to California’s Haas avocados. The flesh of Haas avocados is rich and buttery in texture and flavor. The avocados from the Southeast of the USA are not as rich in flavor, and sometimes even a little watery.
Several years ago there was some sort of blight that hit the California Haas crop and for a year almost we couldn’t buy a Haas avocado for love or money. The only avocados to be had were the variety from Florida, that are larger, with lighter, smoother skin and very large pits, sometimes more pit than flesh and a very bland flavor, due to their lower fat content.
I even noticed that the flesh was at times almost rubbery. I tried to mash one with a fork, and it was ripe, but you could have fooled me, it just wouldn’t mash. I bought a few and then just stopped buying avocados altogether until the Haas avocados were back in the store. And this was very hard to do! We have avocados everyday, either on our salads or in sandwiches. We both love them and they are also a very healthy fruit to eat besides being delicious.
Eddie
[this post was last edited: 5/11/2021-18:35]
reactor
Well-known member
Thanks
Wow!
Thanks for all the good information and tips everyone. Can't wait to try making it!
Barry
Wow!
Thanks for all the good information and tips everyone. Can't wait to try making it!
Barry
Eddie, there is one variety other than Hass that I can appreciate, which is the Bacon. It has smooth green skin, but the texture is so creamy that it almost makes up for it being somewhat less flavorful than a Hass.
A local friend of mine had a tree that was prolific with Bacons. They were big and they were easy to mash, and I did enjoy them. She had the tree removed a few years ago because it was in a weird spot between the driveway and the house.
Here's a picture of some of the last ones she had given to me, with a dime placed for scale. They should not be confused with the green Fuerte variety, which is not even worth buying.
A local friend of mine had a tree that was prolific with Bacons. They were big and they were easy to mash, and I did enjoy them. She had the tree removed a few years ago because it was in a weird spot between the driveway and the house.
Here's a picture of some of the last ones she had given to me, with a dime placed for scale. They should not be confused with the green Fuerte variety, which is not even worth buying.
Thanks Ralph for the info. At first glance I thought they were those terrible Fuerte’s! Anyone that buys Fuerte’s should be paid for recycling waste, because thats all they are.
I’ve not seen the Bacon variety before, but if I do and they are clearly identified I’ll buy one and give them a try.
Eddie
I’ve not seen the Bacon variety before, but if I do and they are clearly identified I’ll buy one and give them a try.
Eddie
