Guavas, and what to do with them

Guavamania hit today when Bob brought in about 100 guavas from our tree. I spent the morning making guava sauce, canning guava slices, and making a guava pie. In other words, I treated them like apples, which don't grow well here. (We can get them imported, but the last batch we got smells and tastes like gasoline. I guess they sat in the wrong place in the truck...)

I eat them fresh, seeds and all. But a lot of people don't like the seeds. And of course, you don't want them in a pie. The seedy center scoops out with a spoon. (And the center looks kind of like a little brain!) :P

Guava Sauce:

Wash guavas and remove the blossom end. Dice and place in a stockpot with a small amount of water. Boil till tender. Mill or strain to remove the seeds. Can or refrigerate. The sauce can be eaten like applesauce (you may wish to add a little sugar) or use as a substitute for applesauce in any recipe, like the cake below, which was so good we couldn't leave it alone and three people finished it in two days!

Beth Cunningham's Guava Sauce Cake
1/3 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cups guava sauce

Mix together oil and sugar, mixing till fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add alternately to creamed mixture with guava sauce. Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan. Bake 350 for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving (optional).

Guava Jam

Guavas, cooked and milled
Sugar

Cook and mill or sieve guavas as above. Measure and return to the saucepan with sugar-- the original recipe called for an amount of sugar equal to the amount of guava, but I also tried reducing the amount by almost half and actually thought it was more flavorful. Cook, stirring often, until it is the thickness you want (take a spoonful out and let it cool to check). Pour into a jar, let cool and refrigerate.

Finally,

Guava Pie

This is really tasty!! You can use your own favorite apple pie recipe, using seeded, sliced guavas. Or try this recipe below.


Pastry:
One cup butter
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Cut the flour, butter, and salt together with a pastry cutter till crumbly. (Note: Nigerian wheat flour by law must be adulterated with 10% cassava flour; which makes it slightly less absorbent. You may need to add about 1/4 cup more flour to make it dry enough.) Sprinkle with a few teaspoons of water and stir gently. Continue to sprinkle small amounts of water until the dough comes together and can be shaped into a ball that does not crack when squeezed. Roll out and line pie pan.

Filling:

6 cups sliced seeded guavas
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. butter

Toss the guavas with the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the water and lemon juice and mix to coat. Turn the mixture into the pie crust. Dot with dabs of butter.

Cover with second crust and cut vents. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes. Poke guavas with a fork to check they are soft. Let cool.