Every time I mash some avocados for a tasty guac, my heart sinks. I know my fate; whatever mush is left over will become part of tomorrow’s sandwich.
Normally, that’s fine, and for the most part, it still tastes good. But given that we eat with our eyes, it’s no wonder my stomach churns a little at the grey, brown-tinged sludge a night’s wait turns the once-verdant sludge into.
We’ve already written at HuffPost UK about how restaurants cook hob-fresh risotto in next to no time, as well as the sneaky tricks they use to perfect broccoli.
But it wasn’t until I saw a 2020 TikTok from then-Chipotle employee Xavi Maestas (@wtf_xavi) that I learned how restaurants keep their guacamole looking and tasting fresh all day, too.
How do they do it?
In his video, Xavi shared that “each panned [scooped into a container] guac gets sealed airtight with Saran wrap [clingfilm].”
But the restaurant worker took covering the food a step further than most of us at home would do.
Instead of covering the top of the container with clingfilm, leaving precious centimetres of air between the avocado dip and its cover, the Chipotle worker pushed the film all the way down so that it touched the guacamole.
That left no air between the film and the guac ― meaning it couldn’t oxidise and turn brown.
After it’s been wrapped up in its clingfilm duvet, the guacamole getsris “lidded, labelled, and stored for later use.”
That’s pretty smart...
I know!
By the way, Xavi also claims to have shared Chipotle’s guacamole recipe on his page.
Standing over a huge bowl of peeled and cored avocados, he first covered them in salt.
“Then we mash,” he said.
After that, he added a “precut mix of onions, cilantro [coriander], jalapeños, and citrus juice.”
Xavi didn’t reveal whether it was lemon or lime juice, a mixture of both, or a different fruit entirely.
He mixed all this together before putting it in the storage containers and sealing it the smart way, with clingfilm.
Chipotle didn’t confirm the recipe was theirs, but it looks pretty tasty regardless...