Guavas are native to Central America, South America and subtropical areas around the world and also here in South Florida. They usually grow about 30 feet tall but here we keep them nice and prune so that they are more manageable and easier to pick.
In South Florida farmers grow two kinds of Guava, the white crunchy type Guava and the soft sweet pink variety, which is this one right here. To keep the fruits free of the Caribbean fruit fly, growers will often bag each individual fruit when it’s very small. This prevents the fruit fly from laying eggs in the fruit. Some farmers will add foam cushioning around the fruit at the same time to protect the fruit from bruising during shipping.
Now we’re in the kitchen and we have some Guavas, when you go to the supermarket make sure you pick Guavas that have very little blemishes and that are firm. Remember, if you order from one of our growers you will be sure to get the best of the best.
To ripen your white Guava or your pink Guava it’s pretty much the same, just let them sit on the counter and let them turn a little bit yellow, let them blush a little bit and you can tell when they’re ripe and ready to eat because they’re a lot softer and they’ll fill up your kitchen with that sweet tropical aroma.
Florida pink Guavas are very delicious, they’re very aromatic; they’re packed in vitamin C, especially on the skin. To eat it you can eat it whole, seeds and everything, skin just like an apple or a peach or you can slice it up, like this. As you can see they’re nice and pink inside. They kind of like have a peach consistency or a pear consistency and they’re very, very fluffy; like a strawberry kind of flavor.
The white Guavas are a little bit crunchier, a little bit harder and you can eat them like an apple skin and everything, seed and all or you can cut them in slices, like this, or in halves. You see we have a white fleshed Guava. They’re very crunchy and very sweet, also packed in vitamin C; it’s just hard to figure out which one you like the best.
Besides eating Guavas fresh, which is really the best way, they can be used in “pastelitos”; they can be used in pies, preserves, jellies, syrups. White Guavas are very good for the same uses but are also good for brown betty recipes.
To store your ripe Guava you just put it in the refrigerator and it will last you about a good week; if you want it to last longer you can dice it up, put it in a plastic bag and throw it in the freezer and it will last you up to a year.
Guavas are very rich in antioxidants, vitamins and fiber. You can go to our website tropicalfruitgrowers.com place an order to one of our growers and get your fresh Guava. That’s good, and I’m serious.
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