DIY Guacamole Seasoning Recipe - Peas and Crayons Blog (2024)

FAQs

What do restaurants put in guacamole to keep it from turning brown? ›

Editor's Tip: You may have heard a squirt of lemon or lime juice also keeps guacamole from browning. It's true—as long as you cover the entire surface of the dip with citrus juice.

A: The guacamole seasoning lasts approximately 2 years as long as it is properly stored in a cool and dry area with no direct sunlight or humidity.

Water is a great trick to use for storing guacamole so it stays fresh, but there are a few other options as well. Acid, like lemon, lime, or vinegar, creates a barrier against oxygen as well, so applying a thin layer will work in a similar way.

Beyond his staple ingredients of avocado, tomato, shallot, lime juice, and green chiles, Ramsay seasons his guacamole mixture with salt and pepper before finishing it off with a drizzle of olive oil and mashing it all together.

I simply squeezed the juice from half a lemon over the surface of the prepared guacamole. I checked for browning after one hour, one-and-a-half hours, and two hours.

Acidulants, such as citric and ascorbic acid found in lemon juice, help lower the pH of avocados and decrease the enzymatic activity, keeping them from turning brown ( 1 , 3 ). Therefore, squeezing a little lemon juice on top of your cut avocado before storing it could help delay browning.

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Guacamole mix usually has a long shelf life. If unopened, it can last for about 2 years past the printed date on the package due to the dehydration process. However, once the package is opened, it should be used within 3-6 months for optimal freshness.

Fine sea salt: A critical ingredient to bring out all of those good flavors! Ground cumin: I've always added a dash to my homemade guacamole, and I'm convinced it's the secret ingredient that rounds out all of those flavors and makes people love it so much.

Diana Kennedy all but forbids it in The Art Of Mexican Cooking, saying it “spoils the balance of flavors.” In Hugo Ortega's Street Foods Of Mexico, Ortega writes, “the secret to a good guacamole is to respect the avocado flavor and not drown it in lime juice” (he adds a scant 1/4 teaspoon for two large avocados).

When guacamole turns brown does that mean it's bad? ›

Although brown guacamole isn't the most appealing, it's completely safe to eat (as long as you've stored the guacamole in the refrigerator, and it isn't more than three days old). "While a bit off-putting to look at, brown guacamole is totally safe," confirms Food Network's nutritionist, Dana Angelo White, MS RD ATC.

Make your guacamole, then place any uneaten dip in a resealable container. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the dip, lightly pressing all over to make sure the plastic is directly in contact with the entire surface of the dip. Store the guacamole in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

The perfect guacamole should be a cross between creamy and chunky. You'll want a mix of avocado chunks and creamy mashed avocado. My tip is to use a fork to mash the avocado but avoid over-mixing the first time around, this will create too much creaminess and be more like avocado puree rather than guacamole.

Blending just a little bit of mayo into your guacamole will help make it extra creamy and silky smooth for dipping or spreading.

But as every guac fan knows, the stuff has a tendency to look nasty in a hurry, a problem only compounded when the product is made in advance. Fortunately for Wholly, the brand had already pioneered a high-pressure process that removes all the air from the container, so the batch doesn't oxidize and turn brown.

“Each panned guac gets sealed airtight with Saran Wrap,” he said. “Then it gets lidded, labeled and stored for later use. This process ensures freshness and prevents browning,” he continued.

To keep the leftover guacamole from browning, the employee rips off a sheet of plastic wrap, then presses it all the way down to the surface of the guacamole, knocking out the air that would be in the container if it was just sealed with a lid.