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What the heck is ... guava?
 Did you notice that stripe of "pink stuff" painted onto the plate when you ordered the Sea Bass with Dehydrated Serrano Ham and Guava Puree? Yep, that is the Guava puree! Guava [GWAH-vah] is a tropical fruit ranging in size from an egg to a baseball. If you happen to live where it grows well (in the tropics), you probably consider it a lovely fruit to be eaten fresh, anytime of the year, as well as an invasive weed to be eradicated. If you live where it doesn't grow well (everywhere else), you will probably never see a fresh guava fruit, much less have a chance to eat one. Ripe Guava fruits have a very short shelf-life after they are picked: 2-3 days max. And so, seldom show up in your local supermarket - if they do, they were picked green and artificially ripened. To be eaten raw, guavas should be very ripe. The ripe Guava has a sweet and distinctive smell reminiscent of quince. Virtually all commercial guava fruit is processed into juice, nectar, puree, jelly, fruit bars, or jam before it is distributed. Often parts of the skin of the Guava are processed with the flesh to give the resulting pulp a fuller flavor, which otherwise has a delicate strawberry note. You can buy these products in stores, canned. Luckily, restaurants can also buy it as little pouches of frozen fresh guava puree. Yumm! The flesh of the guava is very sweet and may be white, pink, yellow, or red. The sweet, musky odor is pungent and penetrating.
 The first account of the guava was written in 1526 by Gonzalo Hernandez de Oveido who called the tree "guayabo" and the fruit "guayaba apple". He was in Haiti, between 1541 and 1557, and observed that the fruit was cultivated by Indians and was common in many parts of the West Indies. From there, the Spaniards spread guava trees all over the tropical world .... .... Not always to everyone's benefit!
Botanically speaking, guava (Psidium guajava), is a member of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae). Its relatives include Eucalyptus, Paper Bark, and many familiar spices (i.e. Clove, Cinnamon, Allspice, and Nutmeg). Fruit producing members in the Mrytle family also include Surinam Cherry ("Chinese Cherry") and the Rose Apple. Guava is native to the American tropics, probably from Peru to Mexico. Its botanical name is derived from the Greek word "psidion", the name of the pomegranate, while its specific name is derived from the Spanish word "guayabe" meaning guava tree, itself being derived from the Arawakan "goiaba" derived from the Caribe "goodiegoodie", via the Tupian "damnthatsgood". The Aztecs called them "xalxocotl" - (I have no idea in hell, how you pronounce that!)
Guava trees are cultivated in many tropical and subtropical countries for their edible fruit. Several species are grown commercially. Where grown locally, the fruit is commonly eaten tree-ripened, and whole, and is often prepared in a variety of ways as a dessert. In most Asian countries they are preferred as wedges, under-ripe, sour, firm and dipped in chili powder and salt or fish sauce or one of the fiery sauces of Thailand. Boiled guava is also extensively used to make candies, preserves, jellies, jams, marmalades and juices. In Asia, a tea is made from guava fruits and leaves. In Egypt, guava juice is popular.
The whole fruit is edible, from seeds to rind, but many people choose to cut out the hard little seeds and the middle of the guava. The guava flesh is sweet (the middle part with the seeds is sweetest), and the rind is slightly bitter tasting.
 Guava leaves are used for medicinal purposes, as a remedy for diarrhea, and for their supposed antimicrobial properties. The same anti-diarrheal substances which are useful in folk medicine may also cause constipation in the case of consumption of large amounts of guava fruits. In Cuba their leaves are also used in barbecues providing a nice smoked flavor and scent to the meat. Guava wood is used for meat smoking in Hawaii and is being used by BBQ competitors across the United States. In recent studies, Guava is believed to have sugar lowering properties to help diabetics lower their sugar count. While testing is not fully conclusive, results have been promising as a natural means to help diabetics combat high blood glucose.
Guava fruit has a thin delicate rind, pale green to yellow at maturity in some species, pink to red in others, a creamy white or orange-salmon flesh with many small hard seeds, and a strong, characteristic aroma. It is rich in vitamins A, B, and C (a guava fruit contains more vitamin C than a typical citrus fruit - the rind contains over five times more vitamin C than an orange). It also contains high amounts of calcium - which is unusual in a fruit.
 As far as growing guavas in the United States, the tropical guava is best adapted to the warm climate of Southern Florida and Hawaii. Guavas actually thrive in both humid and dry climates, but can survive only a few degrees of frost. The mature tree will recover from a brief exposure to 29° F but may be completely defoliated. Young trees are particularly sensitive to cold spells. Older trees, killed to the ground by temperatures below 28° F, often send up new shoots which will bear fruit 2 years later. Guavas can take considerable neglect, withstanding temporary water-logging and very high temperatures. They tend to bear fruit better in areas with a definite winter or cooler season. The smaller guava cultivars can make an excellent container specimen. The adaptability of the guava makes it a serious weed tree in some tropical areas. Feral, invasive Strawberry guava is a very serious, habitat-altering pest in many parks and preserves in Hawaii where it poses a major threat to Hawaii's rare endemic flora and fauna. It forms shade-casting thickets with dense mats of surface feeder roots that make it difficult for other species to coexist. Characteristics that promote guava's success as an invader include its prolific fruiting and aggressive vegetative growth, its tolerance of shade and heavy leaf litter, and through production of toxic chemicals in its leaves and roots that prevent the growth of other plant species.
 Guavas are primarily self-pollinating, although some strains seem to produce more fruit when cross-pollinated with another variety. Guavas can bloom throughout the year in tropical areas, but the heaviest bloom occurs with the onset of warm weather in the spring. The exact time can vary from year to year depending on weather. The chief pollinator of guavas is the honeybee. The seeds are numerous but small and, in good varieties, fully edible. Actual seed counts have ranged from 112 to 535. The quality of the fruit of guavas grown in cooler areas is often disappointing.
 In warmer regions guavas will ripen all year. There is a distinctive change in the color and aroma of the guava that has ripened. For the best flavor, the fruit should be allowed to fully ripen on the tree. Fruit that has changed color cannot be stored for any extended periods. It bruises easily and will quickly deteriorate or rot. Commercial juice varieties have rock hard inedible seeds, deep pink flesh and hard yellow rinds. They are not so good for eating out of hand, but have extremely high vitamin C content.
A mature tree can yield up to three hundred pounds of fruit per harvest cycle, allowing for an annual crop potential of thirty thousand to sixty thousand pounds per acre.
 The guava has been cultivated and distributed by man, by birds, and animals since the dawn of time. It is common throughout all warm areas of tropical America and in the West Indies (since 1526), the Bahamas, Bermuda and southern Florida where it was reportedly introduced in 1847 and was common over more than half the State by 1886. Early Spanish and Portuguese colonizers were quick to carry it from the New World to the East Indies and the Philippians. It was soon adopted as a crop in Asia and in warm parts of Africa. Egyptians have grown it for a long time and it may have traveled from Egypt to Palestine. It is occasionally seen in Algeria and on the Mediterranean coast of France. In India, guava cultivation has been estimated at 125,327 acres yielding 1,880,000 tons annually.
Apparently it did not arrive in Hawaii until the early 1800's.  Now it occurs throughout most of the Pacific islands. Generally, it is a home garden fruit tree or planted in small groves, except in India where it is a major commercial resource. In 1968, Colombia estimated that there were about 10 million wild trees in the country, bearing, 88 lbs (40 kg) each per year, and that only 10% of the fruit was being utilized in processing.
In Florida, the first commercial guava planting was established around 1912 in Palma Sola. Others appeared at Punta Gorda and Opalocka shortly thereafter. A 40-acre guava grove was planted by Miami Fruit Industries at Indian-town in 1946. There has always been a steady market for guava products in Florida and the demand has increased in recent decades with the influx of Caribbean and Latin American people.
 Fresh guavas are eaten out-of-hand, but are usually preferred seeded and served sliced as dessert or in salads. More commonly, the fruit is cooked and cooking eliminates the strong aroma. A standard dessert throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking islands of the West Indies is stewed guava shells (cascos de guayaba); guava halves with the central seed pulp removed, strained and added back to the shells while cooking to enrich the syrup. The canned product is widely sold and the shells can also be quick-frozen. They are often served with cream cheese. Sometimes guavas are canned whole or cut in half without seed removal.
 Bars of thick, rich guava paste and guava leather are staple sweets in most of the Caribbean islands, and guava jelly is almost universally marketed. Guava juice, made by boiling sliced, unseeded guavas and straining, is much used in Hawaii in punch and ice cream sodas. A clear guava juice with all the ascorbic acid and other properties undamaged by excessive heat, is made in South Africa by trimming and mincing guavas, mixing with a natural enzyme to release the juice, pressing, and filtering. It is made into syrup for use on waffles, ice cream, puddings and in milkshakes. Guava juice and nectar are among the numerous popular canned or bottled fruit beverages of the Caribbean area.  After washing and trimming, whole or halved guavas in syrup, or merely sprinkled with sugar, can be put into plastic bags and quick-frozen. In South Africa, a baby-food manufacturer markets a guava-tapioca product, and a guava extract prepared from small and overripe fruits is used as an ascorbic-acid enrichment for soft drinks and various foods. Dehydrated guavas may be reduced to a powder which can be used to flavor ice cream, confections and fruit juices, or boiled with sugar to make jelly, or utilized as pectin to make jelly out of low-pectin fruits.
Hawaii produces tons of frozen guava juice and puree in 5-gallon cans and ships it to processors on the mainland United States. Since 1975, Brazil has been exporting huge quantities of guava paste, concentrated guava pulp, and guava shells not only to the United States but to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Japan - most of it frozen in 55 gallon drums.
In South Africa, guavas are mixed with cornmeal and other ingredients to make breakfast-food flakes.
 Red guavas can be used as the base of savory foods such as sauces, constituting a substitute for tomatoes, especially for those who suffer from the tomato's acidity.
There are many varieties of guava. The small, round, deep-red cherry guava, also called strawberry guava, grows on trees with small, glossy, sturdy, dark green leaves. There is also the more common middle-sized, slightly pear-shaped guava with yellowy-green skin and salmon-pink flesh which grows on trees with larger, lighter colored, more pliable leaves with prominent parallel veins. There is also a dark-green skinned, oval-shaped variety with watermelon-pink flesh. One thing  they all have in common is a central ball of small, edible but quite hard seeds. In the middle of the ball is the sweetest, softest pulp found in the guava, very smooth compared to the slightly granular texture of the flesh outside the seeds. Guavas have a distinctive fragrance and if there is a bowl of guavas in a room, you cannot enter without noticing it. The skin of guavas of whatever variety is thin and the fruit needs only washing, not peeling.
Guava fruit today is considered a minor player in terms of commercial world trade, but is widely grown in the tropics. There are innumerable recipes for utilizing guavas in pies, cakes, puddings, sauce, ice cream, jam, butter, marmalade, chutney, relish, catsup, and other products.
Wann'a try some? First, we have to prepare ourselves!
Guavatini
- 2 oz. guava nectar or juice
- 1-1/2 oz. vodka
- Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with cracked ice and shake.
- strain into a martini glass
- Sip slowly as you contemplate the task at hand
Now, down to the cooking part:
GUAVA LEATHER
- Ripe guavas - OR - frozen guava puree
- Sugar
Wash guavas, cut in halves, cover with water and boil until tender. Rub through a sieve. (alternatively, use frozen guava puree). Weigh the pulp and add an equal quantity of sugar. Boil until the mixture shrinks from the sides of the pot. Stir all the time to prevent burning. When a little of the mixture dropped into water forms a ball, pour into a shallow greased dish. Cool and cut into squares when firm.
 Caribbean Guava Punch (Makes about 20 servings. )
- 2 qt Jamaican rum
- 1 1/2 c Key Lime Juice
- 2 1/2 lb Sugar (or less)
- 2 qt Strong tea
- 1 qt Sherry (sweet)
- 2 qt Water
- 1 lb Guava jelly
- 1/2 pt Brandy
- 3 qt Ginger ale
Mix all ingredients in a very large punchbowl except the ginger ale. Add ginger ale just before serving time. Add ice cubes to suit.
 Guava Sorbet Mixture
- 3 c Guava nectar
- 2/3 c Light corn syrup
- 1/4 c Lime juice
Mix guava nectar, corn syrup, and lime juice. Freeze in ice cream freezer according to machine directions for sorbets.
Guava Barbecue Sauce
- 2 can Guava nectar; (11.5 oz)
- 1 1/2 c Onion; chopped
- 2/3 c Guava jelly
- 1/3 c Dry sherry
- 1/4 c Molasses; (mild-flavored - light)
- 3 tb Red wine vinegar
- 2 tb Tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tb Garlic; chopped
- 1 tb Ground cumin
- 2 tsp Dry mustard
Whisk all ingredients in a large saucepan. Boil mixture, whisking until jelly dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced to 3 cups. Cool.
NOTES : Sauce can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
 Guava Chicken
- 1/4 tsp Five spice
- 1/2 c Catsup
- 1/2 c Shoyu (soy sauce)
- 1/2 c Sugar
- 1/2 c Oyster sauce
- 1 can (6-oz) guava concentrate
- 1 Clove crushed garlic
- 5 lb Chicken thighs
Mix all ingredients and marinate overnight. Bake or grill chicken until done.
Guava Cream Cheese Topping
- 1/4 c Guava jam
- 5 oz Cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tb Fresh lime juice
Mash all ingredients in a bowl with fork until light and fluffy.
 Guava and Orange Smoothie
- 1 cup Guava Pulp (puree)
- 1.75 cup Orange Juice
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- Dash of Lime juice
blend until smooth
Guava and Mango Smoothie (Makes 2 large servings)
- 4 oz, Guava puree
- 4 oz. fresh Mango chunks
- 4 oz. Water
- 1 ripe Banana (peeled)
- 2 oz. Yogurt
- 1 cup ice
blend until smooth
 Guava Bread (like banana nut bread - but different)
- 4 cups flour
- 2-1/4 cups granulated white sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
- 1 cup raisins or dates, chopped (optional)
- 4 cups guava pulp / puree
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 6 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Into a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients -- flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. If desired, add walnuts and raisins or dates; toss to coat with flour. Make a well in dry ingredients and add remaining ingredients. Mix well.
Pour batter into loaf pans that have been coated with vegetable oil cooking spray or lightly oiled. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Make 4 large loaves.
Just a Taste of Guava
Lick the plate after you eat the Sea Bass at Tapino.
Bon appetite!
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