Food trivia | 35 facts about guacamole

Guacamole is a traditional Mexican dish, that has become really popular during the last few years worldwide.

Let’s find out more about guacamole!

1. Guacamole is a Mexican dish.
2. More specifically it is an avocado-based dip, spread, or salad first developed in Mexico.
3. It is now commonly eaten worldwide.
4. It has become part of international and American cuisine as a dip, condiment and salad ingredient.
5. Informally was shortened to guac in the United States  since the 1980s.
6. The name comes from Classical Nahuatl āhuacamōlli .
7. This literally translates to ‘avocado sauce’.
8. In Mexican Spanish, it is pronounced [wakaˈmole].
9. Avocados were first cultivated in South Central Mexico around 10,000 years ago.
10. In the early 1900s, avocados frequently went by the name alligator pear.
11. Guacamole has increased avocado sales in the U.S..
12. Avocado sales were incresed especially on Super Bowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo.
13. 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.
14. Guacamole dip is traditionally made by mashing ripe avocados and sea salt with a molcajete y tejolote (mortar and pestle).
15. Recipes often call for lime juice, cilantro, and jalapeños. Some non-traditional recipes may call for sour cream, tomatoes, basil, or peas.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. As the major ingredient of guacamole is raw avocado, the nutritional value of the dish derives from avocado vitamins, minerals and fats, providing dietary fiber, several B vitamins, vitamin K, vitamin E and potassium in significant content.
19. Avocados are a source of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and phytosterols, such as beta-sitosterol.
20. They also contain carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein.
21. On April 6, 2018, Junta Local de Sanidad Vegetal de Tancítaro, Mexico, achieved the Guinness World Records for the largest serving of guacamole.
22. They created it as part of Tancítaro’s 7th Annual Avocado Festival in Tancítaro, Michoacán, Mexico.
23. The serving weighed 3,788 kg (8,351 lb) and had more than 350 people help prepare it.
24. 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 1 to 4 °C (34 to 40 °F).
25. National Guacamole Day is celebrated on the same day as Mexican Independence Day.
26. It is celebrated on September 16th.
27. Actually, the Aztecs (Ancient Mexicans) invented guacamole.
28. When the Spaniards arrived in the New World, they discovered an Aztec sauce called ahuaca-molli.
29. Molli was the Nahautl word for “something mashed or pureed,” while ahuactl referred to testicles, or the stone fruit that reminded them of testicles.
30. The western state accounts for nearly 90 percent of all avocados grown in the United States, with the bulk of farms centered in a five-county region of southern California.
31. The Haas avocado does not begin to ripen until it is harvested (off the tree).
32. The Apollo 11 astronauts brought guacamole to space with them!
33. However, they did not eat it, since, according to Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, “that pig Buzz Aldrin ate all the chips before we even left earth.”
34. Avocado competes with buffalo wings and pizza as The Superbowl Food, thanks to a successful marketing campaign by avocado growers over the past 2 decades.
35. Avocados are unique fruit. They have a high fat content, but this is a “good” fat – monounsaturated fat.