This headline struck me as more than a bit pretentious. You’re telling me what to like? Or dislike? Get orf it, mate! But I quickly realized the value of the AllRecipes post as a ‘teachable moment’… Both about Guacamole and preference preaching…
Perfect, proper, mouth watering Guacamole: Per the California Avocado Growers.
My first thought was… Is this some warning about a newly-discovered health issue with one of the ingredients of classic Guacamole? Is it a revelation about some historical or traditional faux pas being committed by contemporary Guac? No. Nothing as cataclysmic as that…
Blatant discrimination…
Keaton Larson is a chef with attitude. And definite preferences. One of them concerns Guacamole: “If you come to my house, expect it without tomatoes.”
I was shocked! How could he even suggest such a thing? But he has his reasons…
“Tomatoes always feel a little redundant in guacamole because the citrus from your chosen fruit – whether that be limes, lemons, or oranges – adds enough acidity already.”
And that’s not all…
“They also contain a lot of water, which can pool in the guacamole when stored. An added component I don’t really want – and they can cause any leftovers to brown more quickly and separate.”
Utter nonsense…
You’ll only suffer the disappointment or humiliation of runny, ‘pooling’ guacamole if you resort to second-class tomatoes – less-then-ripe or overripe exemplars of the wrong varieties.
I have an unbreakable rule about my guac and my Pico de Gallo: I use only fully-ripe (but not over-ripe) Beefsteak or Roma Tomatoes. They’re firm, meaty and moisture-retentive. I never get runnels or pools of water in my guac. Folks love it. And not just because it’s guacamole. Even Larson admits, “I go for any guacamole I can get my hands on.”
I beg to counter Larson’s contention that tomatoes add too much acid to guac. As all avocado lovers know, their favourite fruit is naturally ‘buttery’. Which is to say, mild flavoured, silky textured and often described as ‘creamy’. That needs a lot of acid to balance it properly.
Sheer effrontery…
All that having been said… I feel it’s necessary to return, once again, to Larson’s headline. As a seasoned journalist, I’m all too aware that many publications leave the headline to a dedicated staffer who specializes in catchy, interest-embracing sentence fragments. But in my book (or blog), the buck stops with the author of the piece.
Larson, himself, points out that, “there is no single way to make guacamole.”
I agree, wholeheartedly. But no less an authority than the California Avacado Producers (see main image) insist that it ain’t real guac without the tomatoes.
And as a foodservice professional and self-admitted Mexican Food addict, I protest, in the strongest possible terms, anyone trying to tell me what I should ‘Never Add To Guacamole’!
My take
Okay. Fair is fair. I’ve taken a tongue-in-cheek strip off Chef Larson today. So it’s only fair I invite him to do the same to me – over any post of mine he sees fit to assail.
But I AM right about the tomatoes…
~ Maggie J.