Hass or Shepard? In contrast to Twitter or Facebook, the best Guacamole doesn’t make distinctions between them. It demands nothing of its creators: just a ripe avocado (whatever the kind) with a minimal method … along with potato mashing.
“We always keep it simple,” says Sarai Castillo, the head chef for Melbourne’s Tres a Cinco. Growing up in Guadalajara in western Mexico, the Guacamole her family ate was a simple affair: avocados, salt, lime onion, tomato, and chilies. “We don’t put any condiments or spices.”
Australia is currently wrapping the Shepard season in order in preparation for a nearly continuous supply of Hass from May through February. Avocados Australia CEO John Tyas says this month’s harvest will be from the far north of Queensland, which will be then the central and southern Queensland, New South Wales, as well as the Sunraysia region as well as South Australia’s Riverland along with Western Australia. “You’ve got this sort of staggered process of the harvest … to allow that continuity of supply across the year,” Tyas states.
When our grocers are bursting with avocados, you can make Guacamole.
The rules are avocados that are ripe and plenty of lime.
The Hass-Shepard duopoly in Australia has nothing to do with Mexico, which has numerous varieties of avocados. Juan Carlos Negrete Lopez, chef-in-chief and co-owner of Maiz Mexican Street Food in Sydney, is a fan of the Criollo avocado, an indigenous to Mexico that has a creamy texture and soft flesh that tastes aniseed. It’s his favorite ingredient in Guacamole.
However, in Australia, Shepard or Hass can be used as long as they’re not ripe. “You allow the avocado to create its own oils and [become] a creamy avocado rather than like a watery, tasteless avocado,” he declares. It’s a “simple and basic” rule. However, he adds, one that guacamole makers ignore at their own risk.
The second non-negotiable is lime. The combination of citric acid as well as fragrance is vital to offset the lusciousness of avocado. “A really good guacamole should encourage you to keep grabbing another corn chip,” Lopez says. Lopez. “You are not able to make a mistake. It is essential to keep fresh limes in the kitchen.”
The golden ratio of Lopez is one-to-one. One lime for one avocado would be enough. Also, 10ml lime juice per 250g of avocado. Please, no lemons as they’re way too sweet, Castillo says.
In other words, there are no regulations (but there is good taste)
There isn’t a “holy grail” guacamole recipe, Lopez says. There are several variations, like there are families who love Guacamole; certain varieties may include oregano, and others might add olive oil. At home, Lopez adds onion, jalapenos, and coriander (leaves and roots as well as all). In Maiz, coriander is given garnish status in order to satisfy “coriander haters”; the Guacamole can also be topped with chili oil or jalapenos that have been charred.
There are other renegade variants, such as peas (which resulted in Seagate) and Havarti cheese or Greek yogurt. These have all raised the ire of many internet users. However, they provoke less arousing responses from Castillo (“I would never put dairy on my food in there, but I’ve had queso fresco sprinkled over the top, that was fine”) in addition, to Lopez (“that’s hilarious”).
Check out Guacamole with pumpkin seeds, black beans, and edamame, as well as something referred to as “broccamole” (with broccoli) and a different one called “no-brown guacamole” (with mayonnaise). Guacamole soup (warm) Guacamole as a salad, and Guacamole in a salad made with radicchio and beetroot.
Sometimes, avocados are substituted due to necessity and scarcity. The year 2019 saw the skyrocketing cost for avocados within Mexico, resulting in some taco shops changing to Calabacitas (similar in appearance to zucchinis) to create the “faux guac.”ole”.
In addition, you’ll find recipes that stand out for what they don’t include. In the book The Essential Cuisines of Mexico, The famous British food journalist Diana Kennedy – thought by many to be an authority in the English language regarding Mexican food – has left out lime juice in her guacamole recipe.
Lopez claims that the recipe could be a relic of the earliest variations of Guacamole. “‘Probably in its original context it would have been just avocados and chilli mashed together,” Lopez declares. “[But] trying to find the closest original roots of it all, it might be quite difficult and potentially impossible.”
Chop it up finely and use a potato-mashing tool.
In Australia as well as Mexico, not all homes are equipped with a mocajete (Mexico’s solution to the pestle and mortar). Many houses do use the potato masher, and the majority have at least an enormous spoon. All of them are suitable for the Guacamole.
“You don’t want to make it a puree,” says Castillo. When she’s at home or at work, the potato masher has become her preferred tool. At first, avocados are then mashed roughly with salt and lime; the tomatoes and onions are added next, “otherwise they’ll be smashed too.”
Lopez is also a strong advocate for the potato masher or, in a pinch or two, a large chef’s spoon. He emphasizes the importance of finely cutting the ingredients that aren’t avocado so they are able to be properly integrated. “The more pieces you have through your guacamole the more flavour you spread all around,” He states. “Guacamole with big onions is not very pleasant.”
For its texture, green-and gold common recipe can be described as “creamy and textural”. “If you grab a spoon, it should keep a whole blob … not like a runny guacamole,” the expert says.
To accompany it, Lopez likes homemade corn chips, although chicharron (crisp-fried pork rinds) is what he truly is looking for: “Incredibly tasty … but definitely not a vegan, vegetarian-friendly thing.” In Mexicali, his hometown close to the border between Mexico and America, Hotdog vendors are famous for serving their sausages topped with Guacamole and refried beans.
Will it be able to last?
Guacamole is said to need to be consumed immediately. However, good guacamole that has an adequate amount of lime for flavor and to avoid discoloration – can be kept for up to three hours.
If you’re not sure, then you can protect it with clingfilm. However, Castillo states that certain Mexican households would include the avocado pip into the Guacamole to avoid it becoming brown. “It’s a Mexican theory if you leave the seed there, it will stay green,” she states. “I don’t know whether it works or not.”