Thank you all for your advice on our avocados!
For the past week or so, we’ve had avocado on toast for breakfast every morning, and eaten copious amounts of guacamole.
In the course of all this, we’ve made some interesting discoveries. Firstly, adding a little vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to guacamole keeps it beautifully green, even after an extended time in the fridge. We crushed up a couple of tablets (you probably only need one, but we were making a big batch), removed the casing, and dissolved the powder in a little warm water. This was then sprinkled sparingly onto the avocados as they were being mashed.
Here’s a photo of the guacamole after it had been in the fridge overnight (we did press a sheet of Gladwrap onto the surface)…
. . . . .
Secondly, we’ve found that guacamole freezes very well. We portioned small amounts into ziplock bags and stashed them in the freezer…
To see how they were traveling, we defrosted one after three days. It had kept its colour beautifully and wasn’t watery at all, perhaps because the bag had excluded most of the air. If we were planning to do this again, we’d probably leave out the tomato, as I’m not sure how it will hold up over an extended period in the freezer.
We took a photo to show you the defrosted guacamole – Pete suggested using a bowl, so that it looked less like “astronaut food”…
. . . . .
The recipe we used was very simple, and based on one given to us by our friend Barbara…
- 3 ripe avocados
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- juice of half a lime
- chopped coriander (cilantro) to taste
- salt to taste
- 1 vitamin C tablet, pounded, sieved and dissolved in a little water
Using a fork, mash the avocados, sprinkling sparingly with a little vitamin C water as you go – you don’t need very much at all. Add the tomato, coriander and lime juice and continue to mash with a fork. Taste and season with a little salt if necessary. Now invite the neighbours around for a party!
Nice! I love avocados. I like mine mashed plain with a little salt and lime juice.
Also, if after you cut the avocado in half and remove the pit, cut a crisscross pattern with a knife. Then when you scoop the green part into the bowl it’s in perfectly mashable cubes.
Nomnomnom!
Marilyn.
Maz, just like cutting a mango! Thanks for the tip.. :)
A lovely vibrant green guacamole & thanks for the vitamine C tip!!
Clever thinking!
Guacamole looks sooo yummie!! When my friend makes it she puts the avacado pit back in it and that also seems to keep it from turning dark.
I’m another that always throw the seed in the middle to stop it browning as well. Interesting to hear about the Vitamin C.
Glad you have been having fun with all those avocadoes, are they finished yet?
Sophie, thank you!
Debbie, Brydie, I find the pit works too for a little while, but it all darkens over time. Vit C was the only thing we’ve found to keep it green for an extended period – even lime or lemon juice didn’t work forever (and I know both of those have vitamin C as well, but just not concentrated enough). We also add just a sprinkling of dissolved vit C to keep apples lily white in the freezer, and Maude brushes it on eggplant to stop it discolouring.
Brydie, four avos to go! :)
Neat tip! Defrosted guacamole looks like you just whipped up a fresh batch. Aren’t you bored of guac and toast yet? :)
Using vitamin C is a great tip Celia. We always make sure we eat it on the day it’s made to stop it browning, but it would be great to make up a batch. Also didn’t know about using the pit. Good to hear it freezes well too. Do you have anything special planned for your remaining 4?
Sandy, oh yes. After this, it might be a while before I buy another avocado.. :)
Choc, I pulled the last four out of the fridge yesterday, so we have a couple of days to go before they’re ripe. I think they might just be eaten in sandwiches…
Who would’a thought! Vitamin C munched up like that in Guacamole would keep it green AND it freezes. Thanks Celia…, great tips!
Brilliant info, Celia.
I had no idea that avocado’s could be frozen. I had heard about using the stone, but never about the ascorbic acid to stop the browning.
You are a regular mine of avocado information now!
Ah! Would never have thought that Vitamin C retains the colour of the avos! Goodness… I wonder who discovered this! And we’ve never frozen guacamole before cos we thought it would never keep properly, so thanks for the tip!
very neat trick! if ever i make a big batch i’ll have to buy vit c as well. thanks, celia, your posts are always so informative. glad to see rosemary is coming along now. and wow, 68gr on the other one, how do you think that happened? the free range? the worms and greens?
Dana, it’s an interesting dynamic in the chicken coop. Queenie, layer of giant eggs, is a very dominant boss hen, so if there’s any protein from food scraps in the pen, she makes sure she gets it all. We have to work harder on scattering the scraps around so everyone gets some!
Thank you all – we’ve only tried freezing the guac for three days, but it was perfectly fine defrosted, so I have no reason to think it wouldn’t keep well for weeks if not months. I think the Vit C works because it’s an antioxidant. As I mentioned above, we also use it on apples – when we have a surplus of apples, we peel and slice them, and dip them in a weak solution of vit C before freezing.
Great Vit C advice !
But far more important – well done that Rosemary! – small is beautiful x :)
Thanks Jo! Yes, isn’t she a clever girl? For anyone reading this at a later date and wondering what we’re on about – our chicken Rosemary has just laid her first egg today – a tiny 17g pullet egg. Here’s a photo:
Is it red onions on the top?
It was soooooo good when you gave us some, I came out to check if you put the recipe up. Will definitely try this.
Thanks!
Lily, glad you liked it! Pete chopped up a red onion and marinated it overnight in balsamic vinegar, then just scattered it over the top of the guacamole. Optional, but yum!
I’m glad that the avocado freezes so well for you. And I love your faux quail egg! You should be very proud. Perhaps you should ‘blow’ the egg to preserve the shell.
I wish I’d thought of that, Chef! We used it in last night’s homemade pasta instead. It was so tiny, and didn’t have any yolk yet – still very immature. And thanks again for the tip about the freezing…
How wonderful that you are having success freezing the guacamole! I would never have thought to do this. I can’t get over the contrast in your eggs today, amazing! Such clever girls you have… :)
Chris, all the other girls are laying about 55g eggs, it’s just Queenie and Rosemary who are at opposite ends of the scale. Oh, and little Maggie still isn’t laying…
Hehe oh so this is where all of those avocadoes went! Good job Celia! :D
I like onion with my guacamole, too- but I’m in too much of a hurry to eat it to marinate any over night! I just grate some into the recipe.
I use ascorbic acid in a homemade dough enhancer a friend gave me the recipe for. Added to wheat gluten, lecithin, pectin and ginger it also helps to lengthen the freshness of the bread (altough most of the bread is gone within 24 hours of baking!).
Wow! It looks so fresh and delicious! Thanks for the vitamin c tip! It’s so genius!
psst.. is that you reflected in the bowl….? I reckon one could do a nice blog post with all the distorted pics of food bloggers reflected in their bowls, toasters, windows, steel splashbacks etc….. hehehe
Wow, great catch her image on the bowl! :-)
I used vitamin C in the past when I had a huge amount of basil in the garden and did not feel like going all the way with the pesto route. Just processed the leaves and kept in the freezer with a tiny bit of olive oil
Never used it in guacamole, perhaps because me and hubby are complete guacamole addicts, and no matter how much we make it’s gone at the end of the meal
I look forward to more of your posts on the loads of avocados still left… :-)
Lorraine, Sally, still four left! I don’t know if I can face another avocado.. :)
Heidi, it’s funny, I don’t really like ascorbic acid in bread – I only use it as an antioxidant to keep things from browning. Most of our bread is frozen, so I don’t really need it to keep fresh for several days though…
Tes, thank you! I’ve been having trouble leaving a comment on your blog?
Jo, Sally, yes that’s me, or rather my black camera! Good pickup! :) Sally, that’s a great idea, I never thought of using vit C in basil pesto, and I’m constantly whinging about it oxidising!
Good idea…for the pesto as well. Wouldn’t that be nice – bright green pesto that retains its gorgeous colour?!
I love that tiny egg. So sweet. One of our chickens is laying monster eggs at the moment – always double yolk and easily twice the size of a normal egg. Ouch. Hope it doesn’t hurt getting that out!
That IS interesting, SG. I wonder why she’s doing that? How big are we talking here – have you weighed one?
I killed my last set of electronic scales (third one….at least it lasted about 3 months this time)….so I can’t weigh anything accurately at the moment. When I get a replacement I will weigh one of the monsters. Andrew thinks it is fantastic that he gets both his morning eggs in the one shell. I am not sure that I could eat it….I just think of the poor chook who had to lay it.
Celia – I never knew about the Vitamin C! We make guacamole often but it never keeps the colour. Thanks for the great tip!!!
You’re welcome, LJ! Hope these next few weeks go smoothly for you.. :)
I make guac all the time but never ever once heard of your vit c tip. I am so excited to try that out next week when i need to make a big batch for a party. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Also, if you enjoy BLT’s, I love a schmear of guac on the bread instead of mayo. A favorite summer treat!
Thanks KK! I recently discovered bacon and avocado – an amazing combination!
Wow, you’ve given some great tips here! I love guacamole when it’s home-made, especially with a few dashes of Tabasco and finely diced spanish onions to give it extra kick.
Thanks for stopping by, Steph! Tabasco would be a very nice addition…
Hi Celia,
Haven’t looked at your blog for a while so thought I would say hi. Look at how many comments you are getting!! Anyway, I have been obsessed with avocado recently too, and often enjoy a couple of slices of sourdough with avocado, salt and pepper for brekkie/lunch/snack time!
Hope you and family are well xx Kat
Hi gorgeous, thanks for stopping by! Lucky your mum keeps so many avos for you in the fridge.. :)