I didn’t even know guava grew in California until I noticed it in the markets this week. There are two types available now, both from somewhere around Fresno. The one pictured has cottony white flesh with small, crunchy, edible seeds and a mild, sweet flavor without much distinction.
The other type is the pineapple guava. These are the size of gumdrops and the golden brown flesh inside has a tooty-fruity like perfume and a floral sweetness tempered by the skin's powerful astringency. It’s growing on me though. I’m finding it palate cleansing.
You must not have grown up in Southern California, or are young enough to have grown up in one of the many new suburbs/developments.
Guava trees are abundant in back- and front yards all over in Glendale/Burbank/Pasadena/La Canada/La Crescenta/Tujunga.
Now you know where I grew up/now live!
Yum, I love guavas!
I grew up eating guava cheese, which is not really cheese but a boiled down concoction of guava pulp and sugar (link to a good recipe included). Guava cheese has a lovely nutty flavor, which I would imagine would go well with a bit of Stilton and raisin bread or walnuts.
When I lived in India, a guava tree hung over the roof of the building where I lived (I lived on the roof). This gave me a never ending supply of Guava.
A spcial treat was to get one when in town that had a tad bit of salt and cayenne pepper on it. YUM!!!
Sit with all your brothers on the curb under the guava tree, each of you holding your own butter knife. Pick up guava from ground. Cut in half and squoosh out contents directly into your mouth. Drop the rind on the ground. Repeat one hundred million times, then run away to the park so when your mom comes out of the house hollering about the hundred million guava skins on the ground, it's your brothers who have to clean them up.
You guys know where I can get a tree to plant or maybe some just to eat. I'm also interested in the leaves too. Thanks James