I grew up adoring cherry guavas- eating them off the tree in autumn and watching my grandmother make them in to exquisite jelly. The trees are really just shrubs and easily grown, bearing deep red fruit every autumn, that are simply laden with goodness.
The fruit ripens in batches so it's easy to gather up a bowlful at a time to make use of.
By adding a little over a cupful of water to a pot of guavas and simmering the fruit until the colour has faded from them, you'll soon have a gloriously rich liquid- enough to make a little traditional jelly or even some marshmallow.
How to make guava marshmallow:
1 cup of liquid (as above)
Add 3 tbsps of good gelatine (I like nutra organics natural gelatin that I buy at Bin Inn) and heat gently to dissolve.
That's a few minutes stirring over low heat in a pot, or 30-40 seconds in the microwave.
Stir in 1/2 cup of honey and then pour into a bowl that you can use a beater in or use an electric beater if you have one.
Beat until the mixture is pale pink, fluffy and thick.
Pour in to a prepared container quite quickly.
I use a small square slice tin lined with baking paper.
The marshmallow sets fast so within 20 minutes or so you'll be able to turn it out and cut it.
I rub my hands with cornflour as I handle the pieces and then stack them in layers in an airtight container.
They will keep just fine out on the bench until you've eaten them all.
Sweet, but tangy such a delightful food/medicine treat.
You can now press the cooked berries through a sieve or work them through a moulie disgarding the hard seeds.
You could make this in to guava ice cream, or sweeten and mix it in to some thick Greek yoghurt, or chia seeds and coconut milk to make guava chia pudding. Guava paste takes a bit of work but it is truly the Queen of pastes. You can find that recipe here.
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