I had neither heard of nor tasted guava until my arrival on Bequia; such an exotic treat wasn’t common in Canadian homes where apples, plums, pears and berries ruled, and where bananas were the only imported fruits consumed. Moving to the Caribbean introduced me to a cornucopia of tropical flavours, guava being one of many, and my taste buds happily adapted to eating new and different foods.
My first taste of guava was at the Frangipani; I had been treated to supper at the hotel and was given a piece of fruit crumble for dessert. The instant I tasted the warm pie I fell in love – it was much better than the apple crumble my mother made, and my mother’s crumble was pretty good! When I discovered that the dessert had been made by Pat Mitchell with local guavas from the hotel’s garden I was impressed, impressed to the extent that I unashamedly made and sold guava crumble when I opened my own restaurant two years later.
Guava is a seasonal fruit that typically grows on Bequia from July until November. It’s rich in natural health benefits such as antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium and fibre, with the added bonus of being utterly delicious, and can be used to create many tasty food and beverage treats. I especially love fresh guava juice; it can be added to smoothies, mojitos and rum punch, and is very refreshing simply poured over ice with a squeeze of lime.
Guava jams and jellies are found in abundance on grocery store shelves, and are perfect gifts for those born on Bequia who are living “foreign”. I have often carefully wrapped and traveled with guava jams and jellies for family and friends, they are the number one request along with bottles of Erica’s pepper sauce, tastes of home that are always appreciated by the grateful recipients!
I’ve never attempted to make guava ice cream or sorbet, but both are a perfect way to end a meal, either on top of cake or alone in a bowl. Moist guava cakes, muffins, cookies and guava/oatmeal bars are easy to make and always delicious, and guava paste spread on crackers or bread is tasty as well – It’s a very versatile fruit.
Last but not least is guava cheese, a name that turned me off until I realized that it’s a chewy, fudgy sticky treat, not fruit stuffed inside a piece of cheese! Guava cheese is made with equal amounts of strained pulp and sugar, the sweetness cut with a bit of fresh lime. This mixture is cooked until it forms a ball, then spread on a pan to cool. It can then be cut into squares and stored for months in air-tight containers. This makes guava cheese another food item that is sent overseas to the diaspora longing for a taste of home, and I have carried more than my fair share of it to Canada over the years!
Guavas are a healthy and inexpensive fruit that can be used in SO many ways, and trees on Bequia are heavily laden during the growing season. It’s almost sinful to allow fruit to rot on the ground and it’s certainly wasteful; we should all line our shelves with jams, jellies and guava cheese in order to enjoy the “fruits of our labour” all year long….
