Guacamole

Method

1. dice5 min
   onion + jalapeño + cilantro, cut finer than feels necessary — the fold at the end is gentle, so nothing gets any smaller after this point, and a coarse dice of raw onion reads as an intrusion rather than seasoning
2. mash2 min
   molcajete or bowl with a fork
   diced aromatics + salt, ground to a rough wet paste. The salt draws juice out of the onion and chile and disarms the sulfurous bite; skip this and the raw onion stays sharp and separate no matter how long the bowl sits
3. mash2 min
   coarse, ~half crushed
   + avocado flesh + lime juice, pressed against the side of the bowl and stopped while distinct lumps remain. Full mashing ruptures every cell wall, and the released enzymes and water turn the flesh gluey and grey-green within minutes — the lumps are structural, not laziness. The lime's acid slows the same browning enzyme, so add it now rather than at the end
4. fold1 min
   + optional tomato + cumin, folded three or four times only. Taste for salt on a chip, not a spoon — salt reads weaker against fat, and it will always want more than it seems to
5. rest5 min
   plastic pressed flat to the surface
   guacamole, covered with the wrap touching the surface so no air gap remains. Oxygen browns it, not time; the pit buried in the bowl does nothing except shade the patch beneath it. Serve within the hour