Avocado

About

Avocado has a grassy flavor and a buttery texture. Its mild taste pairs well with other subtly flavored foods like mozzarella and shellfish, the latter benefiting from the light anise note in avocado flesh. Because that flavor is easily overshadowed by stronger ingredients like lime and garlic, avocado is valued as much for its rich, cooling texture in sandwiches, salads, and salsas as for its taste. Avocado oil has an even milder flavor than the flesh and lacks its grassy note; olive oil is a better choice when that grassiness is wanted.

Pairs well with avocado

• RoChocolateRaw-food cooks make a silky chocolate mousse from avocado and cocoa powder, sometimes with banana or date added for sweetness, avocado…
• BeMintA simple dressing blends avocado, yogurt, olive oil, mint leaves and salt.
• MaShellfishA classic preparation fills avocado halves with seafood, often shrimp, in a Marie Rose-style sauce, homemade mayonnaise mixed with…
• MeChickenA mild, healthy-tasting combination that benefits from extra character, smoking the chicken, or adding toasted pine nuts, raisins and a…
• BrBaconAvocado's fresh, green flavor offsets bacon's rich, salty meatiness, though the combination is fatty overall; it works well in a salad…
• GrChiliThe Gwen avocado, a 1982 Hass derivative, has a smoky note reminiscent of chipotle chili.
• FfHoneyHoney brings out an unexpected, faintly familiar side of avocado's flavor.
• CiLimeA pairing central to Mexican dishes such as lime-laced guacamole and salsa served alongside grilled steak burritos.
• RoCoffeeAvocado is treated as a fruit in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, blended into a milk-and-sugar shake sometimes flavored with…
• MaOily FishThe California roll, developed in 1960s Los Angeles by sushi chefs Ichiro Mashita and Teruo Imaizumi, substituted avocado for raw tuna,…
• SuCornCorn's aroma when "silking", as the pollen-catching silks emerge from the husk, carries grassy, floral, warm-air notes that avocado shares.
• FrPineapplePineapple has drawn extravagant praise throughout history, compared to blessed fruit, fine melon, and a "compound of strawberries,…
• EaChickpeaChickpea's mild flavor is easily overwhelmed by strong ingredients; avocado, similarly mild, pairs well as long as the texture of at least…
• GrCilantroA popular combination in salsas and guacamole, sharing grassy notes, with cilantro's freshness cutting avocado's fattiness, Ferran Adrià…
• GrKaleKale can take on a seaweed-like note if picked in warm weather but tastes better from colder ground; it pairs well with avocado in a Green…
• EaRyeAvocado toast's popularity owes something to the parallel rise of sourdough bread and vegan eating, but also to texture, it resembles…
• MaSeaweedDulse seaweed is often compared to bacon for its saltiness and mild smokiness, though its dominant flavor is distinctly marine.
• ChBlue CheeseSalty, deep-flavored blue cheese pairs well with avocado, whether as a retro-style dressing filling an avocado half, or spread with mashed…
• GrCucumberA cold soup can be made by blending avocado with peeled, seeded cucumber and lemon juice; avocado dominates but cucumber's fresh green…
• SpNutmegAvocado and nutmeg both carry an aphrodisiac reputation, avocado's vitamin B6 is linked to testosterone production, and nutmeg has its own…
• ChSoft CheeseMozzarella is a classic avocado pairing; when made without gums or fillers, both share a mild, milky sourness, with mozzarella's…
• FrStrawberryStrawberry can replace vinegar in a vinaigrette-style dressing for avocado, strawberries puréed with a mix of olive and sunflower oil,…
• EaBlack beanAvocado's green color and grassy freshness complement black beans well, mashed into a hot, smoky black bean soup for extra creaminess, or…
• WoPine nutToasted pine nuts can taste distinctly bacon-like at the right moment, making them a natural addition to avocado sandwiches or avocado…
• GrDillBoth are grassy but distinct, dill neat and herbal, avocado richer and softer.
• WoHazelnutMexican food writer Diana Kennedy notes that avocados can carry hazelnut and anise notes, particularly the Fuerte variety.
• GrLettuceBoth share a grassy, dairy-like flavor, close enough that textural contrast matters, wedges of romaine lettuce with sliced avocado,…
• CrMangoBoth fruits ripen after picking rather than on the tree, avocado is kept firm on the tree by a hormone from its own leaves, and commercial…
• FrGrapeGrapes can often substitute for tomatoes, useful when serving mozzarella and avocado out of tomato season; the small, translucent-skinned…
• GrGreen teaGreen tea's mild marine flavor suits avocado, including on avocado toast.