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Guava

Fruits · Tropical fruit

Guava

Fragrant tropical fruit with green skin and white or pink flesh full of hard seeds; eaten raw or made into paste.

Also called: amrood, guayaba, goiaba

2 recipes with it

Photo: Ivar Leidus, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

What it is

Guavas are round to pear-shaped fruits with thin green to yellow skin and white or pink, grainy flesh studded with small, hard seeds. Ripe guavas have a strong, musky-floral perfume. In India they are often eaten slightly unripe and crunchy with salt and chilli. Guava paste (goiabada) is a firm, sweet jelly.

Psidium guajava

How it’s used

  • Eaten raw with salt, chilli and lime
  • Cooked into guava paste, jelly and jam
  • Juiced or blended into drinks
  • Paired with cheese in Latin American pastries and desserts

Characteristics

Taste
Sweet, tangy and musky.
Aroma
Strong, floral and tropical.
Texture
Crunchy when underripe, soft and grainy when ripe; hard seeds.
Sold as
fresh, paste, liquid
Cooking uses
Usually eaten raw, Commonly cooked

Storage

At room temperature. Ripen at room temperature until fragrant and slightly soft, then refrigerate and use within a few days.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
68 kcal
Protein
2.55 g
Carbohydrate
14.32 g
Fat
0.95 g
Fibre
5.4 g
Sugars
8.92 g

USDA FoodData Central: Guavas, common, raw.

Related ingredients

Recipes with guava

  • Guava duff

    Bahamian · 2 h 5 min · 517 kcal · Contains egg

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