Guacamole

{{short description|Mexican avocado-based dip, spread, sauce, or salad}}

{{Infobox prepared food

| image = Guacamole IMGP1271.jpg

| caption = Guacamole

| alternate_name = Guac

| country = Mexico

| region =

| creator =

| course =

| type = Dip

| served =

| main_ingredient = Avocados, salt, lime juice, onions, jalapeños

| variations = Sour cream, basil

| calories =

| other =

| similar_dish = Avocado sauce{{br}}Mantequilla de pobre{{br}}Venezuelan guasacaca

}}

Guacamole ({{IPA|es|ɡwakaˈmole|lang| GuacamolePronunciation.ogg}}; informally shortened to guac in the United States{{cite web |title=Oxford Dictionary |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/guac|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901230311/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/guac|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 1, 2013|access-date=August 12, 2018}} since the 1980s){{Cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/guac |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820074726/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/guac |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 20, 2018 |title=guac {{!}} Definition of guac in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries {{!}} English|access-date=August 20, 2018}} is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico.{{cite web |last=Zeldes |first=Leah A. |title=Eat this! Guacamole, a singing sauce, on its day |website=Dining Chicago |publisher=Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. |date=November 4, 2009 |url=http://blog.diningchicago.com/2009/11/04/eat-this-guacamole-a-singing-sauce-on-its-day/ |access-date=November 5, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323081500/http://blog.diningchicago.com/2009/11/04/eat-this-guacamole-a-singing-sauce-on-its-day/|archive-date=23 March 2010}} In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine, it has become part of international cuisine as a dip, condiment, and salad ingredient.{{cite book |last1=Beard |first1=James |author-link1=James Beard |last2=Bittman |first2=Mark |title=Beard on Food: The Best Recipes and Kitchen Wisdom from the Dean of American Cooking |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s9Q7PTP-GdgC&pg=PA86 |access-date=March 14, 2012 |date=September 4, 2007 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-59691-446-9 |pages=86–87}}{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Andrew F. |title=The Oxford companion to American food and drink |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWlCmNDA3QC&pg=PT171 |access-date=March 14, 2012 |date=May 1, 2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530796-2 |pages=144–146}}

Etymology and pronunciation

File:Guacomole.jpg

The name comes from Classical Nahuatl {{lang|nah|āhuacamōlli}} {{IPA|nah|aːwakaˈmoːlːi|}}, which literally translates to 'avocado sauce', from āhuacatl{{Cite news |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/is-the-g-in-guacamole-silent-3079533 |title=How to Pronounce "Guacamole" in Spanish |work=ThoughtCo |access-date=August 20, 2018}} {{IPA|nah|aːˈwakat͡ɬ|}} 'avocado' + mōlli {{IPA|nah|ˈmoːlːi|}} 'sauce' or 'mole'. In Mexican Spanish, it is pronounced {{IPA|es|wakaˈmole|}}.{{cite book|editor=Claudia R. Guerra|title=300 Years of San Antonio and Bexar County|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ilbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT55|year=2018|publisher=Trinity University Press|location=San Antonio, TX|isbn=9781595348500|page=55}}{{cite book|author1=Maria de Lourdes Santiago Martínez|author2=Juan López Chávez|title=Etimologías: introducción a la historia del léxico español|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lKuajvrBhzsC&pg=PA241|year=2004|publisher=Pearson Educación|isbn=9789702604938|page=241}} In American English, it tends to be pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɡ|w|ɑː|k|ə|ˈ|m|oʊ|l|iː}}.{{cite web | url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/guacamole | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003032429/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/guacamole | archive-date=2013-10-03 | title=Guacamole: Definition of guacamole in Oxford dictionary (American English) }} British English also uses this pronunciation, but {{IPAc-en|ˌ|g|w|ɑː|k|ə|ˈ|m|əʊ|l|eɪ}} is more common.{{cite web |title=Definition of guacamole in English by Oxford Dictionaries |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/guacamole |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712103302/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/guacamole |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |website=Oxford Dictionaries English |access-date=21 August 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://lifebyyou.com/us/detroit/food/guac/rock-your-guac-2018.html|title=Etymology|access-date=August 12, 2018}}

History

Avocado seeds were first found in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico around 9,000–10,000 years ago (7000–8000 BCE) and had been domesticated by various Mesoamerican groups by 5000 BCE.{{cite web |url=http://ucavo.ucr.edu/General/HistoryName.html |title=What's in a name? |publisher=University of California |access-date=March 27, 2016}}{{cite journal |title=Tracing the Geographic Origins of Major Avocado Cultivars |journal=Journal of Heredity |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=56–65 |doi=10.1093/jhered/esn068 |pmid=18779226 |year=2008 |last1=Chen |first1=H. |last2=Morrell |first2=P. L. |last3=Ashworth |first3=V. E. T. M. |last4=de la Cruz |first4=M. |last5=Clegg |first5=M. T. |doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |author1=Galindo-Tovar, María Elena |author2=Arzate-Fernández, Amaury M. |author3=Ogata-Aguilar, Nisao |author4=Landero-Torres, Ivonne |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |title=The avocado (Persea americana, Lauraceae) crop in Mesoamerica: 10,000 years of history |journal=Harvard Papers in Botany |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=325–334, page 325 |url=http://www.uv.mx/personal/megalindo/files/2010/07/GalindoTovar_325_334_V21.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010145152/http://www.uv.mx/personal/megalindo/files/2010/07/GalindoTovar_325_334_V21.pdf |archive-date=October 10, 2015 |url-status=live |doi=10.3100/1043-4534(2007)12[325:TAPALC]2.0.CO;2 |jstor=41761865|s2cid=9998040 }} They were likely cultivated in the Supe Valley in Peru as early as 3100 BCE. In the early 1900s, avocados frequently went by the name alligator pear.{{Cite book|url=https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/avocado_ars.html |title=Avocado; In: Fruits of Warm Climates |author=Morton JF |pages=91–102 |publisher=Creative Resource Systems, Inc., Winterville, NC and Center for New Crops & Plant Products, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-9610184-1-2}} In the 1697 book, A New Voyage Round the World, the first known description of a guacamole recipe (though not known by that name) was by English privateer and naturalist William Dampier, who in his visit to Central America during one of his circumnavigations, noted a native preparation made of grinding together avocados, sugar, and lime juice.{{cite web |last1=Fater |first1=Luke |title=The Pirate Who Penned the First English-Language Guacamole Recipe |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/first-food-writer |website=Atlas Obscura |publisher=Atlas Obscura |access-date=2 February 2021 |date=26 July 2019}}

Guacamole has increased avocado sales in the U.S., especially on Super Bowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo.{{cite book |last=Charles |first=Jeffrey |editor1-last=Belasco |editor1-first=Warren |editor2-last=Scranton |editor2-first=Philip |title=Food nations: selling taste in consumer societies |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p9wPoDHQR-IC |access-date=September 20, 2011 |year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-93077-2 |pages=131–154 |chapter=8. Searching for gold in Guacamole: California growers market the avocado, 1910–1994}} The rising consumption of guacamole is most likely due to the U.S. government lifting a ban on avocado imports in the 1990s and the growth of the U.S. Latino population.{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/the-selling-of-the-avocado/385047/ |title=The Selling of the Avocado |last=Khazan |first=Olga |access-date=September 28, 2016|date=2015-01-31 |magazine=The Atlantic}}

Ingredients and preparation

Guacamole is traditionally made by mashing peeled, ripe avocados and salt with a molcajete y tejolote (mortar and pestle).{{cite web |title=The best guacamole recipe |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/best-guacamole-recipe-2017-5 |website=Business Insider |access-date=21 August 2018}}{{cite web |last1=Eats |first1=Serious |title=The Best Guacamole (and the Science of Avocados) {{!}} The Food Lab |url=https://www.seriouseats.com/2012/01/the-food-lab-the-best-guacamole-avocados-science-browning-ripening.html |website=www.seriouseats.com |access-date=21 August 2018 |language=en}} Recipes often call for lime juice, cilantro, onions, and jalapeños. Some non-traditional recipes may call for sour cream, tomatoes, basil, or peas.{{Cite web |url=http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015047-green-pea-guacamole?smid=tw-nytimes |title=Green Pea Guacamole |website=The New York Times |access-date=October 16, 2016}}

Due to the presence of polyphenol oxidase in the cells of avocado, exposure to oxygen in the air causes an enzymatic reaction and develops melanoidin pigment, turning the sauce brown.Hartel, 2009, p. 43 This result is generally considered unappetizing, and there are several methods (some anecdotal) that are used to counter this effect, such as storing the guacamole in an air-tight container or wrapping tightly in plastic to limit the surface area exposed to the air.{{Cite web |url=https://www.avocadocentral.com/avocado-recipes/avocado-party-tips-decor/national-guacamole-day-recipes-entertaining |title=National Guacamole Day :: Fresh Avocado |website=avocadocentral.com |access-date=September 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517130417/https://www.avocadocentral.com/avocado-recipes/avocado-party-tips-decor/national-guacamole-day-recipes-entertaining |archive-date=May 17, 2017 |url-status=dead }}

Composition and nutrients

As the major ingredient of guacamole is raw avocado, the nutritional value of the dish derives from avocado vitamins, minerals and fats, providing dietary fibre, several B vitamins, vitamin K, vitamin E and potassium in significant content (see Daily Value percentages in nutrient table for avocado). Avocados are a source of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and phytosterols, such as beta-sitosterol.{{cite web |url=http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1843/2 |title=Avocados, raw, all commercial varieties, per 100 grams |publisher=NutritionData.com |access-date=April 17, 2013 |year=2013}}{{cite web |title=Avocados: Health Benefits, Nutritional Information |url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270406.php |website=MNT |access-date=January 12, 2016}} They also contain carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein.{{cite journal |journal=Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr |year=2013 |volume=53 |issue=7 |pages=738–50 |doi=10.1080/10408398.2011.556759 |pmid=23638933 |title=Hass avocado composition and potential health effects |author1=Dreher ML |author2=Davenport AJ |pmc=3664913}}

Similar dishes

= ''Mantequilla de pobre'' =

{{Language with name/for|es|Mantequilla de pobre|poor-man's butter}} is a mixture of avocado, tomato, oil, and citrus juice.{{cite book |title=House & Garden |publisher=Condé Nast Publications |issue=v. 128 |year=1965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFYaAQAAMAAJ |access-date=August 21, 2018 |page=122 |quote=Mantequilla de pobre is literally “poor man's butter” ...}} Despite its name, it predates the arrival of dairy cattle in the Americas, and thus was not originally made as a butter substitute.

= ''Guasacaca'' =

File:Guasacaca avocado sauce-1500x1000.jpg

Thinner and more acidic,{{cite news |title=Caracas Calling |url=http://www.nypress.com/article-9759-caracas-calling.html |newspaper=New York Press |date=July 13, 2004 |access-date=March 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610201611/http://www.nypress.com/article-9759-caracas-calling.html |archive-date=June 10, 2015 |url-status=dead }} or thick and chunky,{{cite news |title=Guasacaca – Venezuelan-style Guacamole |url=http://southamericanfood.about.com/b/2009/07/02/guasacaca-venezuelan-style-guacamole.htm |website=About.com |date=July 2, 2009 |access-date=October 6, 2013 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113180342/http://southamericanfood.about.com/b/2009/07/02/guasacaca-venezuelan-style-guacamole.htm |url-status=dead }} guasacaca is a Venezuelan avocado-based sauce; it is made with vinegar,{{cite journal |last=Serpa |first=Diego |year=1968 |title=Avocado Culture in Venezuela |journal=California Avocado Society 1968 Yearbook |volume=52 |pages=153–168 |issn=0096-5960 |url=http://www.avocadosource.com/CAS_Yearbooks/CAS_52_1968/CAS_1968_PG_153-168.pdf |access-date=March 4, 2010}} and is served over parrillas (grilled food), arepas, empanadas, and various other dishes. It is common to make the guasacaca with a little hot sauce instead of jalapeño, but like a guacamole, it is not usually served as a hot sauce itself. It is pronounced "wasakaka" in Latin America.{{cite web |website=Oxford Spanish-English Dictionary |title=guasacaca |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/translate/spanish-english/guasacaca |access-date=February 1, 2016}}{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Sound file is at "{{sc|lat.am.sp}}", to the right of the headword near the top of the window.

= ''Guacamole falso'' =

Substitute ingredients are sometimes used in place of avocados to produce a thick green sauce called guacamole falso (fake guacamole). Common substitutes include summer squash, green tomatoes and oil-fried jalapeños.{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Alisa|title=Why Taquerias Are Making Guacamole Without Avocados|date=July 19, 2019|work=All Things Considered|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/19/743599313/why-taquerias-are-making-guacamole-without-avocados|access-date=2024-05-04}}

Commercial products

Prepared guacamoles are available in stores, often available refrigerated, frozen or in high pressure packaging which pasteurizes and extends shelf life if products are maintained at {{convert|34|to|40|F|order=flip}}.{{cite web |title=High-pressure processing ideal for guacamole lovers |url=http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/marketing-profiles/High-pressure-processing-ideal-for-guacamole-lovers-127760608.html |website=The Packer |access-date=January 12, 2016}}

Holiday

National Guacamole Day is celebrated on the same day as Mexican Independence Day, September 16.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/national-guacamole-day |title=National guacamole day!|website=CBC Kids|access-date=August 20, 2018}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sponsor-story/macayos-restaurants/2016/09/15/macayos-celebrating-mexican-independence-day-guacamole/90416352/ |title=Celebrating Mexican Independence Day, National Guacamole Day |work=The Arizona Republic |access-date=August 20, 2018}}

In popular culture

On November 20, 2022, Municipo de Peribán, Mexico achieved the Guinness World Records for the largest serving of guacamole. The serving weighed 4,972 kg (10,961 lb) and had 500 people help prepare it.{{Cite news |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-serving-of-guacamole/ |title=Largest serving of guacamole |work=Guinness World Records |access-date=August 20, 2018}}

References

= Bibliography =

Hartel, Richard W and Hartel, AnnaKate (March 1, 2009), Food Bites: the Science of the Foods We Eat; Springer Science & Business Media, {{ISBN|0387758453}}