In tribute to Maria's time in Mexico, the cheap, giant avocados you can buy in Brasil and my love for food in general I thought I would do blog about guacamole. Guacamole isn't popular here in Brasil. They prefer to eat their avocado with milk and sugar - like a smoothie or for a dessert. Having grown up with avocado as a savoury rather than a sweet, my preference is still for it on it's own with a bit of freshly ground pepper (another impossible thing to find here in Brasil) or as guacamole. I like my guacamole fresh, chunky and tasty and its so easy to make.
The first avocado originated in Mexico,.The word avocado is from the Aztec Nahuatl word ahuacatl, which means 'testicle' in reference to the shape of the fruit. The name guacamole is a compound derived from two Aztec Nahuatl words - ahuacatl (avocado) and molli (soup/sauce).
The most important ingredient for the perfect guacamole is, of course, the avocado. You have to use good, ripe avocados. You can test the ripeness of an avocado by pressing gently on the outside and it should give a little. It can't be too hard, or too soft - just right. A mix of finely chopped red onion, peppers / serranto chillis for spice, lemon juice and freshly ground pepper and salt are my essentials.
My mother-in-law introduced me to roquamole the other year... and blue cheese is now one of my other essential ingredients. A traditionalist may shake their head at me but it's so good, I could have it just as a meal on it's own.
If you are travelling in a foreign country and desperate for some fresh avocado here's some help:
Avocado /ævəkɑ:doʊ/ in english
Avocado /ævəkɑ:dəʊ/ in american
الأفوكادو /ʼFwkādw/ in arabic
其树 (/qíshù/ in mandarin
el aguacate in spanish
la palta in argentina, bolivia, chile, peru, uruguay (a quechua name)
o abacate in brasilian portuguese
