Cinco de Mayo is prime time for the nutritionally heroic fruit known as the avocado, as households across the country prepare spicy guacamole to accompany refreshing glasses of cerveza.
But there’s one day when even more avocado is consumed in the United States. That’s right: Super Bowl Sunday, which in 2014 takes place three months and three days prior to Cinco de Mayo.
In many households, avocado has become a year-round staple. We may cringe at its price at certain times of the year — it’s among the more expensive of all fruits and vegetables — but we grin and bear it after considering the stress-fighting potassium and monounsaturated fatty acids that it provides.
The avocado is native to central Mexico, where the ancient Aztecs used it to make soups and sauces. It may have been around longer, but the oldest avocado artifacts date back to 10,000 B.C., found in a cave 150 miles inland from Veracruz.
There are numerous avocado varieties, the most popular being the Hass. As is the case with wine, California produces 90 percent of the avocados grown in the United States.
Of course, guacamole is not the only use for the avocado, just as beer is not the only adult beverage suitable for accompanying guac.
As long as your guacamole is not over-the-top spicy, Sauvignon Blanc makes a wonderful pairing partner. Other options include dry (not sweet) Riesling and sparkling wine. The culinary marriage is downright poetic: Chip. Dip. Sip.
Sauvignon Blanc also works well with an avocado that’s stuffed with mildly spiced shrimp.
The avocado’s creamy, nutty quality makes it a nice companion to “California-style” Chardonnay — i.e., bottlings that have undergone malolactic fermentation to create a rich, buttery texture.
You also can simply spread avocado on toasted multi-grain bread for a filling, good-for-you treat that also pairs well with Chardonnay — either “California-style” or “unoaked.”
For more on the health benefits of avocados, and to access recipes, click here.
And be sure to check back here tomorrow for a Chardonnay-friendly avocado recipe.
[…] comes to mind when we think about food-and-wine pairings. But as we talked about in Tuesday’s blog, the pairing possibilities include Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, sparkling wine and Chardonnay — […]