Avocado Butter - an oxymoron?

Avocado tastes butter-like already. Butter is butter. Why would you put a butter-like food with more of the same? Well, because is just tastes so good. It gives the avocado a different texture when it's slicked with butter. It wasn't my idea, although I've been making this long enough that I could easily begin to think it was. But no, it was Sunset Magazine's idea, probably 30 years ago. The upside: taste, ease of preparation, it's freezable (unlike guacamole), and it quickly defrosts. It keeps for a few days, although with some discoloration. The downside: well, the fat, I suppose, although remember that avocado part is a good fat. But you don't need much to smear on a cracker to get that velvety avocado taste. It has some of the classic components of guacamole (lemon juice, and garlic salt). But this time you mix the ingredients with a little gelatin and half and half or milk or cream, and chill it for an hour or so before serving. The gelatin solidifies it enough and makes it spread a lot easier. It might be fine without it, however. I've never tried it, trusting Sunset that they knew what they were doing.

If you have a few extra avocados and don't have plans to use them before they'd go bad, think about this butter, and put it in a couple of small crocks in the freezer for some night when you need a nice appetizer and don't have time to fix one.

Avocado Butter
Recipe By :Sunset Magazine Serving Size : 12 -16
Preparation Time 15 minutes

1 medium avocado
8 ounces butter
1/2 envelope gelatin
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 tablespoons lemon juice -- fresh
garlic salt -- to taste
2 tablespoons half and half

1. Peel and mash the avocado, add softened butter and beat until thoroughly blended. Soften gelatin in cream and stir in boiling water until gelatin is dissolved. Add to avocado with lemon juice and garlic salt. Turn into small loaf pan or dish; spread smoothly. Cover and chill thoroughly. May also be frozen for a few months with no loss of flavor (seal it well, however).
2. Leave butter out at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. Serve with plain crackers.
Serving Ideas : Best served with simple crackers - even saltines are good. The flavor is delicate, so don't overwhelm the butter with a very flavorful crackers.

NOTES : It helps if you have an avocado tree, but even if you don't, this makes a wonderful appetizer, that's very different. It freezes well, believe it or not, and doesn't take all that long to defrost. Spread it into small ramekins, cover with plastic wrap (completely covering the butter mixture) and pop in the freezer.
Per Serving based on serving 12: 170 Calories; 18g Fat (93.2% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 42mg Cholesterol; 161mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 3 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
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