With the emerging health conditions in the modern day, people tend to regularly incorporate healthy food into their diet. So, in this article, we will discuss about nutrition-packed guacamole vs avocado.
Guacamole is an avocado-based dip made by combining other ingredients and seasonings. While on the contrary, avocado is a single fruit that can be consumed in its natural state.
So, let’s take a quick leap into the rest of this post for more information.
What Is An Avocado?
Biologically, avocado is a fleshy fruit that grows on evergreen trees. This fruit can be eaten in its natural form or incorporated into a wide variety of dishes, including salads, dips, pastes, drinks, smoothies, etc.
There are many types of avocado which include some popular varieties like:
- Hass
- Lula
- Choquette
- Reed
- Gwen
- Maluma
- Pinkerton
All of these are rich in essential vitamins, minerals and known for their “good” fat or monounsaturated fat content.
What Is Guacamole?
Guacamole is a Mexican dip made with avocados as its base. Although mashed avocados are its key ingredient, other elements like tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, fresh cilantro, salt, and pepper are added to make it “guacamole”.
This is a versatile and well-consumed food around the world, especially with chips and toast. Even though the basic recipe of guacamole contains the elements mentioned previously, hundreds of other variations can be found. These recipes might include additional ingredients like corn, bacon, cayenne pepper, paprika, etc.
Guacamole vs Avocado
| Guacamole | Avocado | |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | This is a prepared dip by someone using culinary utensils and machines. | This is a fruit that grows naturally on trees with or without the involvement of anyone. |
| Additives | – Cilantro – Onions – Tomatoes – Jalapeno – Lime juice – Salt – Black pepper – Ground cumin – Garlic – Hot sauce – Cayenne pepper – Serrano pepper – Paprika – Corn – Bacon | Has no additives. |
| Flavor | Is much more flavorful than avocados. Has rich, creamy, salty, and slightly sour notes with hints of tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. | Less flavorful than guacamole. Avocados are typically creamy and nutty with a buttery taste. |
| Color | Pale to dark green | The skin of avocados can be green or brown, but the flesh is usually pale yellow in color. |
| Mode of production and availability | It can be made at home, bought from food outlets, or purchased premade options from stores. | Avocado trees can be grown at home or widely available in grocery stores or supermarkets. |
| General usage | As a condiment | – As a fruit – As an ingredient in cooking – Used to make beverages like juices and smoothies – Used to make desserts – Utilized in making beauty products like soap, shampoo, creams, lotions, face wash, etc – Used to make avocado oil and butter |
| Shelf life | The shelf life of guacamole could be extended by using various artificial additives, preservatives, and storage methods. Thus, it will stay well for up to three to four days if stored properly in the refrigerator. However, it can go unappetizing and browned if left outside uncovered. Read our post here to learn more useful tips and tricks on how to store and keep guacamole fresh. | Ripe avocados should be consumed within one to two days since they cannot be eaten when overripened. Ripe, ready-to-eat avocados can be stored in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process. Cut avocados can be kept in the fridge for a maximum of three days when stored properly. |
Is Guacamole Just As Healthy As Avocado?
As mentioned above, avocado is a fruit that is dense in nutrition. It is packed with vitamin E, vitamin B6, potassium, fiber, magnesium, folate, and above all, healthy fats! In fact, a 2018 study of 10 records found an increase in HDL (protective cholesterol) in people who consumed about 1 to 3.7 avocados daily.
Therefore, avocados are naturally healthy and can bring many benefits when incorporated into your diet. Likewise, the bulk of guacamole is made with ripe avocados, so you will definitely get the same nutrition as consuming avocados in their natural state.
But, in addition to avocados, guacamole also contains extra ingredients like onions, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, lime juice, black pepper, etc. Hence, along with the nutrients of avocados, you will get all the nourishment included in these ingredients and seasonings as well.
However, the nutrition you get from avocados is one hundred percent natural. But sometimes, store-bought guacamole options might contain artificial preservatives and additives, which can change its nutritional value accordingly. Thus, while the nutrition of avocados always remains constant, the health value of guacamole could have slight changes.
The Difference Between Guacamole And Avocado In a Nutshell…
Guacamole and avocado are undoubtedly two of the healthiest foods you could include in your regular dishes. But they aren’t the same. Avocado is a single element that can be consumed in its natural state.
But guacamole is a combination of ingredients with avocado as its key component. And guacamole tends to be more flavorful than avocados since it is well-seasoned.
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