Ode to Guava

Have you ever eaten a guava? I don't remember trying them before I came to Tanzania. They have a mild, sweet taste, and I wasn't sure what I thought about them at first. Then I moved into a house with fruit trees. (See my 2013 post about my beloved machenza.) The guavas are the first to ripen, and I've come to really like them.

So what can you do with guavas? Here's a quick tutorial.

First, pick a bunch of guavas. See, this is going to be fun.

If they're firm and still kind of greenish, let them sit for a day or two for maximum yumminess.

You can, of course, just eat them for a quick treat. If they're good and ripe, utensils are not strictly necessary, as my teammate Sarah demonstrates below.

My preference is to cut them in half and scoop out the pink insides with a spoon.

Do you have any other tropical fruits handy? Guava makes a great addition to a smoothie!

This recipe uses (from the bottom): mango, banana, guava, and passion fruit.  Some local "strawberry" flavored yogurt provides the base.

Delicious!

Remember, you have a whole basin full of the things, with more ripening outside. Why not blend up a bunch and make some guava juice? You can't go wrong with fresh pink juice.

One more picture, a symbol of hope for all this scrumptiousness: