America, and the world, has fallen in love with guacamole, and its main ingredient, avocados. Avocados, or alligator pears, are native to the tropical areas of the Americas, and weren't documented in writing until Europeans conquered those regions. But we know that avocados were eaten for thousands of years. But how did we get guacamole? The first European reference to avocados was in 1519, the first reference to avocado mixed with lime juice and spices was in 1866 (to accommodate those who didn't like it plain), and the first instance of the word guacamole in text was in 1891. By the way, that was the year that avocado toast was first lauded in text. Along the way, avocado gained a reputation as an aphrodisiac, mainly because of its nutritional value. Learn how all that happened and how we got the delicious dish we call guacamole at Histories. -Thanks, WTM!
(Image credit: Nikodem Nijaki)
