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Guavas are a type of fruit that are round or oval in shape depending on the species and are usually between 4 and 12 cm long.
The fleshy inside is usually whitish, pink or yellow with lots of small seeds, while the outer skin may be rough with a slightly bitter taste or soft and sweet.
The thickness of the skin varies depending on the specie and how ripe the fruit is; the riper the guava gets, the softer the skin becomes.
Nutrition in Guava
Guavas are rich in omega fatty acids as well as vitamins A and C.
They are often called the ‘super fruit’ because of the very high levels of these vitamins that they contain.
A single guava is said to have more than 4 times the vitamin C that a single orange has.
Wondering how to eat guava fruit to get these nutrients!
Follow any of the following ways.
Ways to eat Guava
There are so many ways to eat a guava.
1. They can be had raw either when they are fully ripe or turned – meaning it is almost ripe; usually you can judge this by sinking your fingernail into the guava; if your nail goes into the skin easily then it is ripe enough to eat, if it requires some effort or cannot go through at all then the guava isn’t edible.
2. If you have a guava freshly picked from the tree you can go ahead and bite into it just as it is or you can try cutting it up and sprinkling it with salt, pepper or both and eating it that way.
It might sound a little strange to you but there are many people that enjoy having the guava this way.
3. The guava is very popular for making candies, preserves, jams, jellies, marmalades and even cheese which is made in the same way as guava jam except that the cheese is boiled longer so that it becomes firmer.
4. The jam recipe is pretty simple if you want to try it, all you have to do is cut the guavas into small pieces, boil them in water until they become soft and then strain them to remove the seeds.
Put the seed free pulp back on the fire, add in some sugar (you can also add citric acid if you so desire) and let it boil while you stir it with a wooden ladle.
When it thickens to your liking, take it off the fire and pour it into dry bottles; you will notice that scum will form on the top, this is normal and nothing to worry about, just scrape it off and then seal the bottle tightly.
As said before, guava cheese follows the same recipe above except that you allow the cheese to thicken until it separates from the sides of the pot.
5.Guava juice is another popular use of the guava fruit while less popular recipes include cakes, frozen desserts, curries, dressings and glazes and many others.