Here’s an overview of some of the benefits of consuming guava. Note that you can make tea with the leaves and that it grows very well in our region!
In pre-pandemic days, the long guayaba (guava) season in San Diego gave my dearest Sinaloa relatives ample time to visit and stock up on guayabas to take home and cook up batches and batches of guayabate (a type of guava jam or paste). My dad especially loved this sweet treat. Seeing so many of my very loved aging relatives struggle with diabetes, I felt very conflicted about being the abundant source of such a sugar-loaded treat. I loved the excuse to have them visit, but hesitated as I couldn’t help but think about the after-effects of the visit. While guayabate certainly has its place in my home and heart, I have been looking for other ways to consume this delicious fruit.
On its own, guava fruit (and leaves!) are packed with healthy vitamins, minerals and medicinal properties. After you’ve had your fill of this fresh fruit, you can always cook with it! Here’s a recipe that uses far less sugar, seems quite versatile and is much quicker to prepare. (Guayabate in its paste form takes hours to cook down, then days to dehydrate via our oven in very low heat.) You can use this reduction sauce over your favorite protein (be it tofu, tempeh, salmon, poultry or lamb) or spread it over your next grilled cheese sandwich!
INGREDIENTS
3 to 5 ripe guavas (to yield about 1 cup guava puree)
1/3 cup tangerine juice (can sub with orange juice or water and 1/8 cup honey or sugar if need be)
1 splash of lemon or lime juice (totally optional!)
1 tbs honey or sugar (also optional, but even with the honey, this is a pretty low-sugar recipe compared to other recipes out there! You can always increase sweetener amount to your liking.)
a splash of red wine vinegar (also completely optional!)
a sprinkle of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Chop guava into pieces and transfer into a small pot along with the tangerine juice and honey.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes or so. You want the guava to cook down to a mush, but not get so dry that you can’t push through a strainer to remove the seeds later.
Remove from heat, add the splash of lemon or lime and then pour through a metal strainer over a cup or bowl. Use a spoon to stir and push the puree through while seeds remain in the strainer. Discard seeds.
Stir in the sprinkle of salt and taste. Here’s where you can the splash of red wine vinegar and extra honey if need be. If you want the sauce to further thicken, transfer back into the pot and simmer some more until you get your desired consistency.
Slather it over your protein of choice (tofu, tempeh, salmon, poultry, lamb…) or transfer it to a small jar and save it for your next grilled cheese sandwich. It will keep in the fridge for the better part of a week.