Gorgeous Guava
Wild guavas, a great thirst quencher, are found often on Hawaii's hiking trails.
In Kilauea, Kauai, C.Brewer's guava plantation is open to visitors. Their
Beaumont guavas are lovely and large with pink-strawberry pulp. Visitors see
fruit-laden guava trees and can sample guava ice cream, sorbet, and other
products. During harvest, the trees may need to be picked thirty-five times
because guava does not ripen uniformly.
The form, color, size, and sweetness of guava, classified as a berry, vary
widely. Guava pulp, highly fragrant, tart, and slightly granular, was named
xalxocotl--"sand plum"-- by the Aztecs. The 150 species of guava growing
worldwide from 27 degrees north latitude to 30 degrees south latitude encompass
sweet, crunchy, small, and large guava.
Guava tips
Don't peel guava because the edible rind has a large concentration of vitamin C.
For smoothies and other uses, puree the rind along with the pulp, but discard
the hard, white seeds. Guava has about five times more vitamin C than orange
(raw guava, 242 mg. vitamin C per 100 g./ orange 50 mg. vitamin C per 100 g.)
Purchase mature, green-stage guava which can be refrigerated for a week. When
ready to use, ripen the guava at room temperature for 1-5 days. When ripe, guava
keeps only a day or two, but the pulp freezes well. Use guava puree for marinade
and for entree and dessert sauces. Guava also makes excellent sorbet, frozen
yogurt, and combines well with other fruits and vegetables for salads.
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