Guayaba is the Spanish word for the sweet and delicious Guava fruit. Guava or guayaba, as we will refer to it throughout the duration of this article, is a seasonal fruit cultivate in tropical climates. The actual fruit is a round or pear-shaped fruit with a light green, yellow or maroon color (once it ripens).
The flesh of a guayaba is white or maroon depending on the type of guava it is and it is filled with small hard seeds surrounded by its sweet and supple pulp. Different types of guayaba include apple guayaba, yellow-fruited cherry guayaba, strawberry guayaba and red apple guayaba. The fruit it mainly eaten raw, either ripe or semi-ripe, and can be used for its juices and to make delicious jams and jellies.
Below, we breakdown our favorite uses of the wonderfully scrumptious guayaba fruit.
Why We Love Guayaba
There is a plentiful amount of reasons why we love guayaba. They are sweet and delicious and such a versatile fruit to work with. They are seemingly exotic in the Americas but can be widely found throughout Asia and obviously, Central America. What is so amazing about guava is that it is so wildly healthy for you.
Guayaba is also very unique for a fruit in the fact that it does not require excessive use of chemicals or pesticides that are usually required for ‘exotic’ fruits. The shelf life is super long compared to other fruits that must be persevered with pesticides like apples and grapes. The guayaba is actually one of the least chemically treated and pesticide sprayed fruits there is.
Guayaba Health Benefits
Guayaba is a fruit of many benefits. From its powerhouse-packed body of nutrients to its ability to help control diabetes to its unmatchable amount of antioxidants, it is undeniable that guayabas are packed with health benefits. Another great benefit of the guayaba is its ability to help reduce cholesterol and overall allowing for better regulation of blood pressure.
For thyroids, guayabas are known to be a great source of copper, which is key in controlling hormone production and absorption by regulating metabolism. The energy regulation of your body’s metabolism allows for a healthier thyroid. Guayaba is also a natural way to eliminate diarrhea and dysentery.
The Guayaba is one of the strongest sources of dietary fiber compared to other common fruits. In Particular, guayaba seeds ingested whole or chewed up can serve as a wonderful laxative. Guayabas are jam-packed with vitamin B3, B6, C, A, B9 among many other vitamins and nutrients that allow it to be one of the healthiest fruits around!
Top 5 Guayaba Recipes
Easy Guayaba Jam
This simple and delicious guayaba jam is one of the most prominent and easy ways to incorporate guayaba into yours and your families diet. During guayaba season, this is my go to jam and it is an amazing switch up from the typical grape and peach jams. Guayaba is in season in the wintertime and it is the perfect time to sweeten up your dreary world and add some extremely yummy jam to your world!
There is a downside of cooking with guava and that is the fact that the seeds are rock hard...like break your tooth hard. We recommended using a blender to blend the fruit on a low speed, allowing the pulp and seeds to loosen. Then, use a mesh strainer to press the fruit through and remove the seeds.
Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 16
Ingredients:
5-6 ripe guayabas
2-3 limes worth of limejuice
1-cup sugar (use half of the amount of sugar compared to how much guava puree you have) Pectin
Instructions:
Grab your de-seeded guava puree. Measure the amount of guayaba puree you have and then you will use HALF the amount of sugar compared to the amount of guayaba puree you have. For example, if you have two cups of puree, you will use one cup of sugar. Transfer your guayaba puree to a non-reactive pan.
Add your sugar. Add one tablespoon of pectin for every cup of guayaba puree you have. For example, if you have three cups of guayaba puree, you will use three tablespoons of pectin. Heat the mixture over medium high heat stirring vigorously until the mix comes to a dramatic boil.
Stir consistently for an entire minute and then remove from the heat. Transfer to a glass storage jar that you use for jams and jellies. Let the jam cool to room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator. Use the delicious jam to spread on your toast, bagels, sandwiches or swirl into your morning granola and yogurt for an extra sweet taste!
Guayaba Pastelillos
Guayaba Pastelillos, also known as guava cheese turnovers, are one of the delectable treats you cannot stop grabbing at your friend’s dinner party. It is perfectly balanced between sweet, salty, cheesy and creamy and we cannot get enough of this super simple and yummy dessert Pastelillos treat.
Time: 1 hour
Serves: 8 people
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 (1-pound) package frozen puff pastry (thawed)
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese
4 oz. homemade guayaba jam – use our easy recipe above!
1 egg, beaten with one-teaspoon water
¼ cup powdered sugar
1-teaspoon milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
To start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Sprinkle the granulated sugar on your work surface to keep your dough from sticking, either a clean countertop or large piece of wax paper. Roll out each sheet of thawed puff pastry to make an 8 x 8 inch square and use a pizza cutter to cut each into four even squares.
To make the turnovers, grab one of your pastry squares and set it in front of you. Point one piece of the pastry square’s corners towards you and add a gracious dollop (1 ounce) of cream cheese diagonally over the center of the bottom of the pastry square. Then add a generous spoonful of sweet guayaba paste. Make sure to give the corners of the squares a nice brush of beaten egg to keep it perfectly moist.
Fold the upper half of the square over the cream cheese and guava paste and then crimp the edges with a fork. Do this eight times with the rest of your ingredients and place them on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Bake for twenty minutes or until a perfectly puffy golden brown.
While the turnovers are in the oven, mix your confectioner’s sugar with the milk and vanilla, stirring vigorously. Set this mixture aside. Take the turnovers out of the onion and let cool on a cooling rack for fifteen minutes. Drizzle the milk mixture over the turnovers before serving warm.
Crock Pot Guayaba Glazed Meatballs
Normally meatballs are not what typically come to mind when it comes to the sweet and supple guayaba fruit. Except in the case of these slow cooker guava glazed meatballs, because its about the best combination of sweet and savory your taste buds could ever dream of. The following recipe is a combination of a homemade meatball recipe and a guayaba glazed meatball recipe in order to compensate for the frozen pre-cooked meatballs used in the recipe.
We love using homemade and ‘real’ ingredients, but feel free to use precooked frozen meatballs to save some time if you need. This simple recipe will serve at the families new favorite dinner or your friends new favorite appetizer. Eat up and enjoy!
Time: 6 hours
Serves: 10
Ingredients:
For meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
1-cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup finely chopped onion
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Himalayan pink sea salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
For guayaba glaze:
16 ounces guava paste or buy a standard 16 oz. package of guava paste
¼ cup water
¼ cup orange juice
1 jalapeno, diced and seeded
1-tablespoon soy sauce
Green onions or sesame seeds as a garnish, as desired
Instructions:
You will start by making the homemade meatballs and preheating the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, you will mix together the ground beef, eggs and breadcrumbs. Add in the chopped onion and spices and use your hands to mix everything up very well. Shape the mixture into desired sized meatballs.
Place the meatballs onto a baking sheet or in a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake for fifteen minutes. Drain grease and cool. If you are making your meatballs to use for later, put in a freezer bag and away in the freezer for later use. If you are using them at the same time for your guayaba glazed meatballs, keep them out for more cooking.
To make your guayaba glazed meatballs, add the meatballs and every single other ingredient into the slow cooker. Heat on high for about one hour and then give the ingredients a nice stir to mix them up better. Cook for three to four hours on high or seven to eight hours on low. Stir before serving and top with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.
Get With Guayaba!
Well, we hope you started getting as excited as we are about these amazingly delicious guayaba recipes. There surely is something very exciting about a handful of ripe guayabas and we hope you found these recipes full of adventurous, yummy and refreshing ideas.
Whether it’s for a family appetizer, a sports watching party or your daily bread, any of these guayaba recipe ideas are sure to be an instant taste bud satisfier.
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