Have a Guava Party

Just when winter blues are about to kick in, guava pops up in the market and reminds us that brighter days are not that far off. The brightly colored pink and green winter fruit saves the day.

Guavas will keep you coming back for another taste of summer with its sweet, fruity and floral flavors. The exotic fruit is rich in dietary fiber, vitamins A and C and dietary minerals like potassium and manganese. In general, guavas contain about 4 times more vitamin C than an orange—and for a month a year it is a welcome morning drink. The low-calorie profile of essential nutrients packed into each guava makes our nutrition mind giddy. In the tropics, guava is commonly eaten to treat digestive issues because the fruit is high in tannin. Though we will take it as more of a palate cleanser and stick to Pepto for our upset stomach.

Guavas are highly perishable so once they are ripe you will only have a couple of days to enjoy them. Be sure to purchase a blemish-free fruit and check it often so that you get to enjoy the tropical flavors before the fruit wilts away on your countertop.

The high pectin content and texture of the guava makes it great for jellies and the like but you can enjoy the aromatic fruit in both savory and sweet dishes beyond jam. You can start by enjoying the freshness of a guava by digging in with a spoon, but if you want to kick your guava consumption up a notch here are some recipe ideas to get you started:

• Consider this: sweet potatoes and guava syrup. Food masterpiece.
• If Bobby Flay cooked us these Cuban pulled pork tacos with guava glaze, we’d be in foodie heaven.
• Sip the snowfall away with this homemade fresh guava juice.
• Cookie or streusel, we are super into these vegan strawberry guava snacks.
• When lacking the fresh fruit, you can always bring guava flavors to your dishes like these guava yogurt pancakes.

Have you ever tried guava? What is your favorite way to eat the winter fruit?

Feature image via