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Eat Seasonal

Guava is a tropical fruit native to central and south Americas, and it is now commonly grown in the subtropical and tropical regions in Asia. Similar to many other crops these days, guava is available year-round with a peak production period in July and August. However, the fruits harvested in autumn and winter taste more delicious despite their smaller sizes! Guava does not last very long, only about 3-4 days and too low of a temperature can cause damages to its outer layer, so it is best stored in the crispy drawer in the fridge and ideally wrapped in plastic bags or in containers. They can also be stored under room temperature in dry and cool places to allow further ripening if a softer texture is preferred.

Nutrition

Guava is more popular in Asia, central and south America countries while some people from other regions of the world may never have tried fresh guava fruit before. The unique fragrant of guava makes it a popular flavouring to be used in special drinks or cocktails which many people could have been more familiar with. To make use of the real guava fruit in our daily dishes, we can find that guava paste is widely used in central and south Americas to make pastry, desserts, and sauces. Comparing to Hong Kong, guava is mostly eaten in its original form as a fresh fruit with only very few examples of Chinese dishes using guava as an ingredient.

Taste of guava is sweet and often being described as a blend of strawberries and pears. The nutrient of guava is yet quite different from strawberries and pears. It contains a surprisingly rich amount of vitamin C, much higher than the well-known vitamin C containing fruits, kiwi and orange. One guava fruit (55g without refuse) has 126mg vitamin C (140% DV) that is nearly 2 times of that of one kiwifruit (69g) or one orange (131g) which provide 64mg (71% DV) and 70mg (77% DV) respectively. Vitamin C is an important nutrient in several aspects of our health, such as immune function, wound healing…etc. Not only vitamin C is in abundance, but guava is also considered as a good source of dietary fibre. Each guava fruit (55g, without refuse) already contains about 3g of dietary fibre, contributing more than 10% Daily Value (DV). Within the 3g of total dietary fibre, a good amount of that is soluble fibre that is known to be beneficial our blood glucose management after meal by slowing blood glucose spike. In additional to supporting immune system and blood glucose level, guava is also an excellent source of copper, 127mcg (14% DV) in a guava fruit (55g, without refuse), a mineral that plays a role in making our happy hormone dopamine.

If you haven’t ever had guava fruit before, give it a try in this winter to enjoy this flavourful subtropical fruit with the great nutrients it brings along.

Sustainability

Guava seeds are edible too! Although most people will get rid of them because of their hardness, they are a good source of dietary fibre to further boost our total dietary fibre intake when we eat the seeds with the flesh. Consuming the seeds is an act to reduce our impact on the planet as well by minimizing the food waste we generate.

Compass Chef’s Recipe Sharing

Homemade Guava Jam

Ingredients

·       250mL water ·       650g guava, chopped ·       200g white sugar ·       20mL lemon juice

Method

1.       In a deep-bottomed pan, bring water to boil on medium heat and then add guava to the pan to continue to boil. 2.       Remove from heat to let the boiled guava cool, and then strain it through a jelly cloth to remove seeds. 3.       In a medium pan, add the strained guava pulp & juice, sugar, lemon juice, bring the mixture to boil on a medium heat while stirring constantly. 4.       Remove mixture from the heat when it reaches a jam-like consistency, and then let it cool to room temperature. 5.       Wash jam jars, lids in hot soapy water and then rinse well. 6.       Put jam jars and lids on a rack in a pot of water. Bring water to boil, and then remove from pot to cool after a few minutes. 7.        Transfer jam to jars. 8.        Close up the jars with lids and then store it upside down.

References:

1. Liberty Times Net. Available at: https://food.ltn.com.tw/article/6683 . Accessed on 15Sep2023.
2. Food Data Central – Guavas, common, raw. Available at: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/173044/nutrients . Accessed on 15Sep2023.
3. Food Data Central – Kiwifruit, green, raw. Available at: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168153/nutrients . Accessed on 15Sep2023.
4. Food Data Central – Orange, raw, all commercial varieties. Available at: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169097/nutrients . Accessed on 15Sep2023.