"avocado dip" news and stories

Now that cookout season has kicked off, my healthy makeovers of traditional summer classics -- like creamy guacamole dip -- are in high demand.

It's true that avocados are high in fat, prompting people to call it the "butter pear." While a medium-sized avocado contains about 30 grams of fat, most of it is mono-unsaturated fat that actually helps to lower cholesterol levels. Diet experts have long steered consumers away from avocados, though the U.S. government revised its official nutrition guidelines a few years ago to encourage Americans to eat more of them.

Some people say it's impossible to mess up a guacamole recipe, but I beg to differ. In my book, there's no place for garlic. Yes, you heard right. Plum tomatoes are a must, with the seeds removed to keep from watering down the dip's velvety texture. I also think lime juice and cilantro are central to kicking up the flavor a notch, adding a nice contrast to the creamy texture of the avocados. I top the whole thing off with a pinch of heat from cayenne or other hot, ground dried chilies.

Get Jennifer's guacamole tips and Creamy Guacamole Dip recipe after the jump.

Now I've heard everything.

A woman in Los Angeles is suing Kraft Foods because the avocado dip she bought wasn't really guacamole. Or, in her exact words, "it didn't taste avocadoey." She's seeking damages and wants to force Kraft from calling the dip "guacamole." Kraft says that they aren't deceiving anyone because the labels list the ingredients. However, they have decided to change the labels, to point out a little bit clearer that the dip is only "guacamole-flavored." Hmmm...should they change before the lawsuit is brought to a judge? Isn't that sort of admitting at least a little guilt, that you can see their point and you're changing the label? (I'm probably wrong on that. All I know about law is what I get watching reruns of Ed.)

I hate when my guacamole isn't "avocadoey" enough. It's the same thing when I get a Caesar's salad and it's not anchoviriffic, or when I buy banana bread and it's not bananatastic.

[via Obscure Store and Reading Room]

Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day of the year for avocado consumption, when Americans consume over 49.5 million pounds of the creamy green fruits. It's also a big day for California, whose producers account for 95% of the national avocado crop.

Avocados are technically classified as a type of berry, growing natively from flowering trees in Mexico and Central America. There are hundreds of types of avocados, but only a few are grown commercially. Hass avocados are the most common for the reason that they are produced year round, unlike other, strictly seasonal varieties. All avocados have a green or yellowish interior that is creamy and soft when ripe. Like bananas, avocados ripen off the tree after being picked by hand to avoid bruising. Unripe avocados are extremely hard, but they will ripen within several days of being picked. A ripe avocado will yield to slightly pressure on its skin. The skin of hass avocados will turn from green to black when they are ripe, though such an obvious color change is not present in all varieties of the fruits.