I thought I’d revisit my promise to introduce more of the Brazilian produce I’ve come to enjoy. Today I thought I’d talk about goiaba (pronounce goy-aba), known in English as guava.Guava is a popular ingredient in Brazil. Almost every menu will have a dessert option that involves guava. In this case it is usually the goiabada which is like a thick jam. Of course, it is full of sugar, but very tasty.
I have had the opportunity to buy fresh guava and I do so every few weeks. Guava is a fruit that is pink on the inside and is covered by a thin green skin which is edible. The texture is probably closest to a kiwi, or somewhere between a peach and an apple. The little seeds inside, also edible, are like Grapenuts cereal.
While the fruit has a distinct musty smell it is hard to describe the flavor except for unique. It isn’t overly sweet or sour. Many people slice guava into quarters and eat each section as a fresh fruit.
To be honest, I don’t really like guava fresh like this. There is something about the flavor of the skin and those crunchy nuts that I can’t get used to eating.
I have found one way I like it though – juiced so I can drink it. Putting the guava through the juicer produces a really thick pulp. I add a little water to it and maybe a ¼ teaspoon of sugar.
Earlier this year when I was looking around the USDA web-site I found some interesting information. Yes, the nutrition dork that I am and considering the fact that I worked for a USDA grant funded program for a while, I do search around there for the latest research.
What I found out was that when it comes to antioxidants – Blueberries #1 and Guava #2.
US and Thai researches determined that guava packs an amazing amount of antioxidants. What is even more exciting is that farmers in south Florida are experimenting with the crop. We’ll still have the pesky transport issue to deal with, but this might mean more availability of guava in the U.S. You can read more about the research here.
One thing I found to be funny in the article is this line, “…to meet rising consumer demand for unusual fruits.”
I think “unusual fruit” is a bit of a relative term. Not sure why it caught my attention. Probably the whole living abroad thing has made me more sensitive to these little things.
If you asked someone who has it readily available to them, I doubt they would call it unusual. Maybe exotic, delicious or healthy would be a better term. Looks to me like they were being a little non-PC with their produce talk!
I always look forward to reading about the exotic fruits you feature – yum!!
Thanks for the feedback! I wasn’t sure if it would be something that would interest everyone or not.
I would love to have these in our grocery store! That juice looks really, really tasty!
Who knows? It might become more accessible in the States in a few years. I hope so. I’m gonna miss it when we move back. 🙂
We used to have these growing in our backyard in CA – the previous owners must have planted them, but they happily grew there without any special treatment beyond normal watering, so I wouldn’t think it would be too hard to grow them on a commercial scale in parts of the US.
I actually tried a couple of Guavas for the first time a couple of weeks ago.
http://graduatemeghann.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/another-fun-fruit/
I didn’t care for the texture either and am pretty sur eit would be much better in juice or smoothie form! I’m sure the guava you had were alot fresher then mine though!
I have never tried guava, but now I think I will try it….thanks for this informative post!
Ahh…yum! Looks very tasty! Thanks!
You know, right AFTER I saw your glass of guava juice and right BEFORE I read how full of antioxidants it has? I was thinking to myself, “Boy, that glass of juice sure does look ultra-healthy.” 🙂
(Maybe it looks that way because it’s thicker than apple, grape, and orange juice? Regardless, it looks delicious!)
http://zandria.us
You said blueberries. Now I want pancakes.
🙂
emily – That is really interesting. I think it is great that we are utilizing our warm weather states to get some of these things closer to home. More variety and more nutrition!
meghann and zandria – When it is juiced it really does turn out to be more like a smooth. There is a lot of the pulp still incorporated.
meg and mark – You are welcome! I am so glad everyone enjoys the info.
Charlie – Welcome and thanks for your comment. I love blueberries (and pancakes!)too. Unfortunately they are pretty much non-existent in Brazil. That and cranberries. I have heard they are experimenting with blueberry crops in the very south of the country, but you don’t see them around at all.
Hi Lori- thanks for visiting my blog 🙂 I don’t believe I’ve ever had guava before. No excuses as I’ve seen it many times. Will have to give it a shot. I find that I like many fruits in Smoothies that I don’t normally like on their own. I guess it has to do with flavor preference over texture. Looks delish!
Hi RecipeGirl – Thanks for your comment. Definitely give it a try if you have the opportunity. It is really a unique fruit. 🙂
Yum! When I was in Brazil we had lots of fresh fruit every morning and it was amazing, including guava of course.
Food in Brazil overall was the best food I’ve ever had!
I definitely love the fruits and veggies here. Unfortunately, I am in a smaller town and the variety is pretty limited. I’m not much for Brazilian food from this perspective, but when I travel to larger cities I find the food great there.