The Secret History of Guacamole in the West (It Wasn’t Always Pretty)
We revisit the quintessential summer dip that has been getting the star treatment in Sunset for nearly a century.
In the 125 years that Sunset has been covering the West, one recipe has appeared in the magazine more than most: guacamole. It’s a dish that’s quintessentially Western, thanks to the region’s freewheeling approach to cuisine, its Mexican past and present, and the abundance of ripe avocados. There have been highlights (a recommendation to char your own chiles for fire-roasted flavor, if you’re the kind of person who adds chiles to yours), and low points (substituting Sauternes for lime juice), but it’s core to who we are, even making an appearance on the cover and inspiring a gardening guide to growing your own avocado trees. Here we reprint a recipe originally published in May 1970 that stands the test of time, along with a timeline of some of those high (and low) points.
Guacamole x Sunset—a Timeline
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