Guacamole is an avocado-based dip

Dip (food)

A dip or dipping sauce is a common condiment for many types of food. Dips are used to add flavor and/or texture to a food, such as pita bread, dumplings, crackers, cut-up raw vegetables, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chips, tortilla chips, and falafel...

 that originated in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. It is traditionally made by mashing ripe avocado

Avocado

The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...

s with a molcajete

Molcajete

A molcajete is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle tool, similar to the South American batan used for grinding various food products...

 (mortar and pestle) with sea salt. Some recipes call for limited tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

, spicy Asian spices such as white onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

, lime juice, and/or additional seasonings.

History

Guacamole was made by the Aztec

Aztec

The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

s as early as the 16th century. The name comes from an Aztec dialect via Nahuatl āhuacamolli, which literally translates to "avocado sauce", from āhuacatl (="avocado") + molli (="sauce"). In Spanish, it is pronounced wakaˈmole, in American English

American English

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....

 gwɑːkəˈmoʊliː, and in British English

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

 sometimes ˌwækəˈmoʊliː.

Early recipes from the California Avocado Advisory Board (Calavo), published in the 1940s, were accompanied with a pronunciation suggestion: "Say Huakamole". Later marketing tried to create a "luau" or Pacific Island image of the avocado in the 1960s, and a Spanish or Mediterranean image in the 1970s. Avocados had not gained popularity in Europe. Guacamole has pushed avocado sales to 30 million pounds on two days a year: Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday, sometimes referred to as Super Sunday, is the Sunday on which the Super Bowl is played. Typically occurring in late January or early February, it is considered a de facto national holiday in the United States. On Super Bowl Sunday many people gather to watch the Super Bowl...

 and Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla...

.

Guasacaca

Thinner and more acidic, Guasacaca is a Venezuelan avocado based sauce; it is made with vinegar and is served over parrillas (grilled food), arepas, empanadas and various other dishes . It is common to make the guasacaca with red chili pepper

Chili pepper

Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...

s instead of tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

 and jalapeño

Jalapeño

The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a warm, burning sensation when eaten. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red...

, as a hot sauce is frequently offered in a separate container.

Commercial products

Prepared and fresh guacamoles are available in stores, often available refrigerated. The non-fresh guacamole that is most like fresh is preserved by freezing or sometimes high pressure packaging. Other non-fresh preparations need higher levels of fillers and artificial preservatives to be shelf stable

Shelf stable

Shelf stable food is food of a type that would normally be stored refrigerated but which has been processed so that it can be safely stored in a sealed container at room or ambient temperature for a usefully long shelf life...

.