Guacamole is an avocado-based spread, condiment, or salad—depending on how it’s used—that’s perfect for any celebration. It’s a food that’s been eaten for thousands of years in South Central Mexico and has been extremely popular in the U.S. since the 1990s. It’s no wonder that a holiday was created around it. A holiday that’s known as National Guacamole Day and is observed annually on September 16th. This is the perfect day for everyone to whip up their favorite guacamole recipe, invite some friends and family members over, and have a good time.

The Ancient History of Guacamole

Since the history of National Guacamole Day has eluded us, we’ve decided to instead dig down into the history of guacamole. And fortunately for us, guacamole is a dish that has a rich history that goes back thousands of years. Scientists now know that people of South Central Mexico have been cultivating avocados for 10,000 years, so it’s entirely likely that some guacamole-type dish was created that long ago.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much evidence to back that up just yet. The first known avocado recipe was printed in a late 17th-century book entitled “A New Voyage Round the World” by English privateer William Dampier. He discovered the dish while he was visiting Central America during one of his trips. This recipe described a dish made using ground avocados, lime juice, and sugar. That certainly sounds like guacamole to us.

Facts About Guacamole

Anyone who is hungry for not just guacamole but also guacamole facts is going to love this section. That’s because we’ve dug up some of the tastiest guacamole facts that we could find and then served them up for easy consumption. Let’s go enjoy the facts that we found.

Guacamole Was Invented by the Aztecs

By the time the Spaniards had shown up in the New World, the Aztecs had already been making a sauce that they called ahuaca-molli. This word is made up of two separate Nahuatl words. “Molli” means something that is smashed and “ahuacatl” means testicles. Therefore, the dish was known as “mashed testicles.” The Aztecs gave it this name because the stone in avocados reminded them of testicles.

Approximately 90% of U.S. Avocados Are Grown in California

About 90% of the U.S. production of avocados is grown in California. Actually, the majority of them are grown on farms in a five-county region of Southern California.

Observing National Guacamole Day

National Guacamole Day is a holiday that’s best celebrated with fresh guacamole and plenty of friends. People can buy their favorite type of tortilla chips and make their favorite guacamole recipe. While they’re observing this holiday, they can also use the hashtag #NationalGuacamoleDay on their social media accounts to spread pictures of their guacamole creations.