food to glow

Super-green matcha tea-enhanced guacamole – traditional recipe, but with a superfood twist. 

Today’s post is quite literally stuffed with my favourite tips for not only making the best guacamole, but also how to choose matcha tea. Both can be very simple, but I hope my years’ of experience making guacamole (30+ years) and drinking matcha (10+ years) may add to your knowledge base. If you would like to add your own advice and tips, please do leave a comment at the bottom of this post! I love hearing from you. Now, let’s hit that guac!

On the face of it guacamole is one of the easiest things to make. It certainly is a recipe of few ingredients and minimal equipment. In fact, here are the basic instructions: mash ripe avocados, then add some finely chopped onion, minced garlic and a goodly amount of fresh lime juice. Definitely some salt. Serve. Or sneak it away to some quiet spot and enjoy its rich, green gorgeousness solo with a bag of tortilla chips. 🙂

But to make a really good batch we need to read between the lines. Make some crucial decisions. Yes, really.

How to make a really good guacamole

A really good guacamole starts in the market. Whether you want to make a small bowl – probs needing 2 fat avocados – or a party-sized batch, you really need to inspect each avocado. If you can buy them loose, do so. Look for an evenly coloured fruit with no dents, blemishes or flat areas.

Your avocados need to be perfectly ripe. Goldilocks ripe. Your aim is to get fruits that when halved reveal flesh as spreadable as butter. And tasting not dissimilar. Creamy, irresistible flesh, vividly green.

So, how to know if it’s ripe?

Picking tips There are a few, but my go-to is holding each one in the palm of my hand and applying even pressure from my fingers – no poking with fingertips as this will bruise it. If the avocado yields easily and evenly, without the sense of any pockets of air or mushiness, it’s probably a good ‘un. If it gives but not so readily, this would be fine for making your guacamole in 2-3 day’s time. No give, put it back. It may never ripen properly. You could always sit it in with a bunch of bananas where its ripening gases will do its best. Or pop them in a paper bag. Once you have your ripe avocados, either use them on the day of purchase or refrigerate up to three days.

Another tip is if the little stem end nub flicks off easily, it should be ripe. I prefer the gentle pressure method. Different varietals have their own idiocyncrasies though. This advice applies mainly to the popular, nubbly, purpleish-black hass avocado. Here is a good page on knowing avocado varieties.

You can also read my Simple Guacamole + Tips On How to Choose An Avocado for more information – and a super simple recipe with menu of optional add-ins and uses.

Another tip is that you need to use room temperature avocados. Referencing the butter analogy again, use your avocados as you would butter for baking. Most recipes call for a room temp butter to make it easier to blend. This is true here, but also the refrigerator really, really inhibits the flavour of avocados. But if your avos are a bit chilly, mash them directly on a chopping board rather than in a bowl. This keeps them from slipping around. The same goes for if avocados are not evenly ripe – they tend to be harder at the ends if not perfectly ripe, and are more difficult to mash in a bowl. Or use a big pestle and mortar.

To tomato or not tomato. Tomatoes in guacamole are a no-no for some and a nice addition for others. I am in the latter camp. But I bow to the purists among you. I wouldn’t however add tomato to a guacamole that will not be immediately demolished in a hail of tortilla chip dive bombings.

And what of chillies and cilantro? These are also optional extras. Sometimes I add freshly toasted and ground cumin seeds too.

Matcha – a new way to flavour your guacamole + know your matchas

But, in this recipe, I am amping the enticing green of the avocado with a little matcha to make Matcha Guacamole. Or, Matchamole. Basically I’ve discovered that my favourite drink also makes a great natural food colouring. And depending on how much you add, and the type, you will get an intriguingly grassy, herbaceous taste, too. I can’t think it really adds much nutritionally as this guacamole is intended to serve 6; and the amount divided amongst the servings is minimal. But, again, if you are keeping it to yourself, consider the benefits it may add.

Find out more about matcha in my post Tropical Matcha Yogurt Breakfast Bowl + 6 Benefits of Matcha.

What may influence the taste impact of matcha on your guac, beyond the amount added, is the type of matcha you use.

The two main types you will come across are Ceremonial and Culinary. Some people think that culinary is just an inferior version of the hallowed ceremonial. But the differences are really in the uses. You can get a rubbish ceremonial, as you can get a high-quality culinary.

Culinary matcha is often lighter in colour compared to ceremonial. Also called cooking grade, this matcha is made to use with other ingredients. It is strong and bitter, holding up well in smoothies, chocolates, baking, popcorn and just about anything you can think of. It is not a subtle form, but it does “play well with others.” You will not be able to see the colour until you open the tin or foil packet but know that yellow-green rather than blue green usually means it is culinary grade. This type needs sweetening if it is used in drinks, such as hot tea, smoothies and lattes. It is the most popular type in the US.

Ceremonial grade is the only kind that is used in Japanese tea ceremonies. It is grassy-sweet and mild compared to culinary matcha, needing no sweetener to make it palatable to Western tastebuds. It also is often at least triple the price. And you need to use 3-4 times the amount when adding it to recipes. Usually. There are always differences between processors and batches. I tend to like my matcha subtle so I stick with ceremonial for all purposes, adding a bit more if needed. I can always tell when I’m out and having a matcha latte when they have used culinary rather than pricier ceremonial. It is too strong for my liking. I think this is because we expect to see a vivid green so they add more of the culinary to try and achieve this aesthetic. Just no.

Another little word of wisdom is about packaging. Foil packets in the tin are often a sign of a better product as this really protects the matcha until the foil is scissored open and you decant it into the storage tin. I can’t recall a tin of loose matcha, or plastic/paper pouch that was any match for matcha that comes sealed in foil.

Use either grade in this Matcha Guacamole recipe. I would start with the amount stated and adjust upward if needed. I’ve written it for culinary grade as this is the most affordable and most commonly available in shops. I buy (Amazon affiliate link) ceremonial grade organic Kineta brand online. Love, love, love this stuff. I’ve tried countless brands and I’m sticking with this one for the foreseeable.

This blog is peppered with recipe using avocados and matcha green tea. My recipe index needs an overhaul but if you can bear it, have a mosey around. Or click here on avocado recipes and/or matcha recipes to refine the search.

PS I use a technique similar to that described here for homemade tortilla chips, adding linseeds, cumin seeds and smoked salt before baking. And I buy Cool Chile brand corn tortillas (UK).

***So, are you Team Matcha? Which kind do you prefer, and what’s your favourite use for it, beyond drinking it straight.***

 

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RIPE FOR PINNING!