Use Ripe Avocados Ripe avocados are essential to great guacamole. We cannot tell you how many times we've come home from the store with a big bag of avocados and had to wait one, two, maybe three days before they are ripe. So, plan ahead. Most avocados you'll find at the store will be under ripe or over and neither are good for this guacamole recipe. You'll know when an avocado is ripe when it gives just slightly when squeezed. If unripe, don't store them in the fridge. You want to keep them at room temperature until ripe. If you know friends are coming over on Sunday, buy your avocados a few days before. If you need to speed up the ripening process, throw them into a paper bag with a banana and leave for a day or two. Try not to over

mash or puree avocados when making guacamole. You want a chunky dip, not a completely smooth one. So, when you're making the guacamole, gently mash things together with a fork and leave some texture. Raw onions can be overpowering, so while we love onion in our guacamole recipe, we always tone them down by adding diced onion to a bowl of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. This way, that raw onion flavor calms down, but you're still left with crisp onions. Try this method for fresh salsas, too. Deseed Your Tomato We love adding some diced tomato, but we always deseed it first. If you don't do this, the tomato seeds and juices add too much moisture. We usually pick up a "plum" or "Roma" tomato for guacamole since it already has fewer seeds than others. Add a Little Ground Cumin