Craig Claiborne's Gourmet Diet, 1980

[yakima]

Thrift store browsing, picked this up. Claiborne wrote this with Chef Pierre Franey, detailing his journey to a no salt, low cholesterol diet with tasty recipes. CC was food editor, etc. at NY Times roughly from 1957 to 1986. He developed a method of doing restaurant reviews, which continues as the model today. He died in 2000, age 79.

This is an interesting book. I am not a dieter, do not track all the various diets, but find this very informative. Have made one thing so far: guacamole. I have always made it with what seems a ton of salt. It is always well received. His recipe has no salt, uses coriander and the usual ingredients, and is really good. Way more than $2.00 of information and entertainment in this book.

As an aside, it has been interesting to read other sources relative to the numerous chefs he introduced to the public. E.g. Julia Child, Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse, Diana Kennedy and others.

[MsTwiggy]

I never add salt to guacamole. The only thing I add beyond avocados are juice from escabeche. If you are eating with chips they bring a lot of salt. Does he provide any backstory to his dietary preferences? 🔥🔥🐿️

[DaveD]

Also never add salt to guac. I add some salsa, garlic powder, dash of cumin, black pepper, and some coarsely chopped onion & tomato...

[fzxdoc]

If you can get into the Milk Street website, yakima , you can see Diana Kennedy's take on guacamole. Here's an excerpt:

To Americans it borders on anathema, but Diana Kennedy is adamant. Lime juice has no place in guacamole. Nor garlic.
It’s a difficult point to argue with the woman who is likely the greatest living authority on Mexican cuisine. Plus, she’ll curse you down if you try.
Still, we were skeptical. Could guacamole without the bright tang of lime and mild bite of garlic still taste fresh and balanced?
To find out, we traveled to San Francisco Coatepec de Morelos, the tiny hillside village three hours outside Mexico City where Kennedy has lived for decades, chronicling the regional and mostly rural cuisines of Mexico. She would teach us the simplest form of the dish, that served in central Mexico.
Cooking lessons with Kennedy are as informal—“Do you want some mezcal? Drink some damn mezcal!”—as they are informative—“Don’t let any damn fool tell you to take the seeds out of the serranos!”
Like most of us, I consider a good guacamole to be an act of minimalism and balance. Fatty avocado reined in by heat and acid. Not a whole lot more. It quickly became evident that while right, I was also completely wrong. And in ways I hadn’t even considered.
Kennedy made several batches of guacamole as we stood on the stone patio outside her kitchen, overrun with dense growth—herbs, citrus trees and hot peppers. Nearby were wood-fired ovens and solar stoves sent to her by Jose Andres (used to preheat her cooking water in the sun). She explained the rules of guacamole while mashing avocados in her 60-year-old molcajete.

Diana Kennedy

Diana Kennedy’s guacamole is a portrait of minimalism and balance.
First, the primary seasoning of guacamole should come from just three things: serrano chilies, white onion and cilantro. No bacon. No corn. No fruit. Certainly no kale or peas. Most importantly, no garlic. Never garlic. None of these is traditional. And garlic in particular does nothing but compete with the cleaner flavors of the avocados, chili peppers and cilantro.
Second, don’t mince the ingredients. Don’t mash them, either. “You lose all the juices,” Kennedy scolded. “Everybody wants to mince, mince, mince! It drives me mad. Of course, a lot of things drive me mad. But you don’t want to mash.”
At least not yet. For now, they should be chopped, those serrano seeds and all. The heat and flavor live in the seeds. Only idiots remove them, so I was told.
The mashing only occurs once those ingredients move from the cutting board to the bowl. Otherwise you leave juices—and flavor—behind. Whether you use a mortar and pestle or a mixing bowl and the back of a fork, the onions, chilies and cilantro get mashed to a paste that permeates the avocados.
Finally, that lime juice. Kennedy agrees that acid is key to a great guacamole. It balances the fat of the avocados and slows oxidation (that ugly browning). But the acid shouldn’t come from lime juice, a flavor Kennedy says only overwhelms the avocados and also isn’t traditional.
In Mexico, tomato provides the acid. Chopped fresh tomatoes offer a gentler acidity and flavor that—unlike limes—complement rather than compete with the other ingredients.
The taste of Kennedy’s guacamole was clean, simple and balanced, the perfect foil for a crunchy-salty tortilla chip. Unlike so many American guacamoles, it tasted of fresh, bold avocado, not sharp lime juice.

Over the years, I have cooked the heck out of her signature cookbook. I deviate from her recommendations sometimes but I keep it a secret if I do!

Kathryn

[MsTwiggy]

It worked for her!! There are regional variations for everything in Mexico - South America. I learned guacamole from my neighbor in Baja California Sur - she was Colombian. She also glazed her Easter ham with Coca-Cola 🔥🔥🐿️

[DTro]

Interesting read. I only use lime juice and spring onion when I make guacamole. Sometimes a pinch of red pepper flakes goes in too. I now have to try swapping the lime for tomato. Thanks for sharing.

[yakima]

I am getting educated by the cookbook mavens!
Re Claiborne, he had an episode of hypertension in Manhattan. Dr told him to get off salt, reduce cholesterol, lose 20 lbs. So he did. Actually lost 30. He was a little guy. Don't know height, but his target weight was 150.

Re Diana Kennedy. I have her 2008 update of The Art of Mexican Cooking. Have not looked at it much, but just found her guac recipe. Scant 1/2 tsp of salt. Avocado, Serrano, onion, cilantro. Will be my next go.

Did not realize I was going to stir up a guacamole maelstrom.! Learned a bunch.

[yakima]

Had to look up "garlic scapes".