Un-holy guacamole!
There is a fraudulent side-effect to those surging avocado prices
Surging avocado prices throughout North America may be spurring some guacamole producers to cut corners.
Phoney guacamole — made with the more affordable Mexican summer squash called calabacita — is being passed off as the real thing at some taco stands, U.K.’S The Guardian reports.
Apparently, when cooked and combined with the other typical ingredients, the colour and taste is unsettlingly similar to real guacamole.
“The scariest part is that it tastes almost exactly like your standard taqueria guacamole: Bright, spicy, rich and very satisfying,” writes L.A. Taco, which conducted its own taste test.
According to the Los Angeles-based website, the giveaway “is the faintest, subtly sweet flavour from the squash one that is not present in the guacamole with aguacate (avocado).” But even then, it took a direct comparison with actual guacamole to tell the difference. “Even the fake guacamole oxidized and started to turn brown after about 30 minutes.”
Twitter user Karligrafia first alerted people to the fraud, which was then reported on by Mexico City magazine Chilango.
While it’s unknown how long cooks have been making the swap, “it likely isn’t just limited to taquerias in Mexico,” The Guardian reports.
Javier Cabral, editor-in-chief of L.A. Taco, told NPR that avocado-less guacamole is an issue at some L.A. taquerias, as well.
According to Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, we’re in the midst of an “avocado crisis.” A poor crop in Mexico — which Canada relies on for 95 per cent of its avocados — coupled with the fruit’s immense popularity and heightened border tensions between the U.S. and Mexico are driving the cost up.
While Canadians are accustomed to paying roughly a dollar for an avocado, “I would dare you to find anything south of $2 right now,” Charlebois told CTV News. Retail prices have tripled and wholesale prices have doubled over the past year, putting pressure on restaurants and others in the food service industry. Prices aren’t expected to drop until October, he adds, which is a natural high point in Mexico’s production cycle.
In the meantime, many are adopting workarounds that require fewer (or no, as in the case of phoney guacamole) avocados.
“Some are using edamame, broccoli, green peas or even asparagus instead of avocados to make guacamole. These are cheaper ingredients and restaurateurs save by reducing the number of avocados they are using,” Charlebois said in a statement.
“Whether or not restaurants are telling the consumer about these subtle changes is another matter.”