We bring you all you need to know about avocados and a selection of our amazingly tasty avocado recipes. Avocados are tremendously popular in Latin America, for many good reasons. In recent decades avocado have also become a worldwide culinary superstar.
Why we ❤️ it
What’s not to love about buttery and creamy textured, nutty-flavored avocados? Dominicans revere them for their taste and texture, because they’re so satisfying and nutritious, and because serving a few generous chunks of avocado on the side with a sprinkling of salt transforms any dish -- from the daily Bandera lunch to a hearty plate of Sancocho or Asopao – into a veritable banquet.
We also enjoy eating them in salads and mashed on bread.
Avocado recipes
In the Dominican Republic, avocados are most commonly served sliced as a simple but cherished side dish, but here we share the many ways avocado can be enjoyed, from some traditional dishes to some of our creations.
Pan con aguacate
Tostones rellenos
Ensalada de aguacate
Sandwichon
Avocado and egg mini-sandwich
[Recipe + Video] Vegan Avocado Mayo
Avocado pasta salad
Smoked Salmon and Avocado Mayo Canapes Recipe
Avocado hot dog
Avocado and sour cream dip
Avocado on crackers.
About this recipe
For this irresistible party snack I topped crispy crackers with a Mexican-inspired avocado topping (I don't mess with other people's traditional foods, so let's not call it guacamole), and a touch of queso cremita (the Dominican version of queso fresco), and/or bacon. Because, bacon.
There are a lot of great ingredients in this sauce, things we Dominicans are used to, and love. Avocado, for example. Our obsession with the stuff is legendary. We can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is why I am sure that this is going to be a hit with your guests.
Who doesn't love avocado? OK. I don't need to know...
To add a bit of extra flavor, some crispy bacon, or a touch of queso cremita, decorate with some cilantro and you'll be ready to celebrate summer. Regardless of the weather outside your door.
Recipe
This awesome free recipe contains Amazon affiliate links, we receive a small commission from any purchase you make at no extra cost to you. Thanks!
Avocado Canapes + 14 Amazing Avocado Recipes
Ingredients
- ¼ pound bacon, [0.11 Kg]
- 1 small red onion
- 1 plum tomato
- 1 avocado
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- ½ teaspoon salt, (or more, to taste)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 12 crackers
- ¼ pound queso cremita (or blanco), [0.11 Kg] (queso fresco, or drained cottage cheese), crumbled
- Cilantro, to garnish
Instructions
- Chop the bacon into ½" [1.5 cm] pieces. Place the bacon in a microwave-safe container, and cover it with plastic film. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the container, and place on a paper towel to absorb excess grease.Alternatively, you can fry it in a pan.
- Dice the onion and the tomato. Peel and chop the avocado. Mix with the onion and tomato. Season with pepper, salt, and lime juice to taste. Chill.
- Serve avocado alongside crackers, bacon, and cheese. When serving top the crackers with the avocado, top with bacon or cheese and garnish with cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
What is aguacate?
Aguacate is the most common Spanish name for avocado (Persea americana), a tree that originates in the highlands of Mesoamerica (modern-day Mexico and Central America). The fruit of the same name has been eaten and cultivated throughout the continent, including South America, since ancient times.
Where does aguacate come from?
In the Dominican Republic, avocado trees grow almost everywhere, in the fields, back yards, and gardens, in cities and towns as well as rural areas. With worldwide demand sky-rocketing, it has also become one of the country’s leading export crops and is being cultivated on a large scale.
But it’s not all good news. Environmental concerns about large-scale cultivation of avocados include deforestation to make way for plantations and extremely high levels of water use (an eye-watering 320 liters per avocado). As with many cash crops, increased demand from international markets hikes up the price and risks making it less affordable to local people. Imported avocados have a huge carbon footprint for being shipped across the world from as far as Chile and New Zealand.
How to select avocados
If you are planning to eat it within a day, choose an avocado that is soft, and has a slight give when you press the skin, without being mushy. Depending on the variety, it will stay green or turn purple when ripened.
How to store avocados
It's best not to refrigerate unripe avocados, as, in my experience, it halts the ripening process and tends to produce sub-par avocados.
Once an avocado has been cut open or mashed, refrigerate it and add a few drops of lemon or lime juice to the exposed flesh. You can also leave the pit to minimize exposure to the air and consequent oxidation.
If an avocado is still unripe, store it in a dark place like a kitchen cabinet, wrapped in newspaper. But don’t forget to check it a couple of times a day to ensure you catch it before it overripens. The window of time between an unripe and overripe avocado is notoriously brief!
Nutritional properties of avocados
It is said that when avocados are in season, in poorer households, children’s nutritional levels show a measurable increase. Avocados are very rich in healthy fats and fiber, and also contain high to moderate amounts of vitamin B, C, E, and K, Omega 3, and very high levels of potassium.
Health benefits of avocado
With the possible exception of people with chronic kidney disease, avocado has been incorporated into many diets due to its rich nutritional qualities. It’s particularly popular with vegans and vegetarians, keto and paleo eaters, as well as the general public.
Avocado varieties
There are approximately 500 varieties of avocado worldwide. The main cultivars in the Dominican Republic are Green Skin, Hass, Semil 34, Popenoe, Simmonds, Pollock, Doctor Dupoi, and Carla.
Dominican avocado
Avocado is a staple of the Dominican diet and is mainly eaten as a side dish or part of a salad. The Dominican Republic is now one of the world’s main avocado producers and its main export markets are the US, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands, Spain, and France.
What does aguacate mean?
The name for avocado in Spanish, aguacate, comes from the Aztec āhuacatl. In Spanish, aguacate is the best-known word for the fruit, however, in some parts of South America, avocado is known as 'palta'. In Venezuela, 'cura' is a synonym for aguacate. Avocado is sometimes called 'pagua' in Cuba.
Avocados were originally called ‘peras de las indias’ (West Indian pears) by the Spaniards when they arrived in the Americas. According to some sources, another name was 'manzana de invierno' or winter apple.
Why is avocado called palta?
Palta is a Quechua word and this is what avocados are called in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. Palta is also the name of an indigenous ethnic group from the Andean region.
How to pronounce aguacate?
The pronunciation in Spanish is Ag-wah-kah-teh.
What is aguacate in English?
The English name for aguacate is avocado. The original English name in the US was ‘alligator pear’. Australians abbreviate avocado to ‘avo’. In India, it is also known as ‘butter fruit’.
How to remove the aguacate pit safely?
Slice the ripe avocado lengthwise around the single large seed known as the pit. Once halved, the pit should come out without much coaxing. If not, gently squeeze the half with the pit and it will pop out.
Some fun facts about avocado
- As mentioned above, the Spanish name ‘aguacate’ derives from the Aztec āhuacatl, the Nahuatl word for testicles, apparently because they grow in pairs, rather than for their color or shape. The Aztecs also called it the fertility fruit.
- Its former name in English, alligator pear, was changed because ‘avocado’ was considered to be more marketable.
- When avocados first appeared in the UK market in the 1960s, they were labeled as avocado pears. That name soon faded out of use after people tried to eat them as if they were actual pears!
- Botanically, avocado is a fruit, although culinarily it is used as a vegetable. But not always. For example, in Brazil, avocado is eaten as a dessert, sweetened with sugar. It can replace dairy butter or cream and even eggs in vegan cakes, and avocados can make a fruit smoothie creamier without overpowering the flavor.
- In Mexico, the leaves of the avocado tree are used in a variety of dishes as well as for tea.
- At one point, an estimated three million photos of avocado toast were being posted on Instagram every day.
- Avocados have higher levels of potassium than bananas.
- Avocados have long been used in traditional and commercial skin and hair products for their moisturizing qualities.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on AgricultureWikipedia
- Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
- ProDominicana/CEI-RD – Centro de Exportación e Inversion de la República Dominicana
- Encyclopedia of food & nutrition focused on comparison
- USDA
- The True Cost of our Avocado Obsession. British Vogue
- Why our love for avocados is not sustainable. Sustainable Food TrustWikipedia
- Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
Published April 10, 2016, revised
