OT: How do you know when a guava is ripe?.....

GenesGrill

I live in western North Carolina and for the first time I have a fresh guava which my wife found at a local grocery that now carries them on occasions. It's about the size of a peach, medium green (label says from Florida), and hard as a rock right now. How do I let it ripen..just leave it out in the open? And more importantly, how can I tell when it's ripe?? Thanks for any input....

Richard Fl

When it is soft to the touch. Put in on a shelf in the kitchen, not refrigerated. Many caribbean stores carry guava paste, like a firm jelly. great for sauces.

Sauce, BBQ, Guava

I was marooned in a waiting room the other day, and in the Feb. '07 issue of More (magazine) there was a story about a Colombian chef/restauranteur in Miami. Among other things the story included a few of her recipes, and Guava Barbecue Sauce was among them. I made a batch for use on this past weekend's-tri tip. Predictably it was quite sweet. I post it here knowing that some folks like sweet sauces.Ken


INGREDIENTS:
3 Tbs vegetable oil
2 yellow onions, medium, chopped
6 oz guava paste, cut into chunks
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 oz star anise
1/2 ground allspice
1/4 tsp curry powder
2 Tbs cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1 Tbs dark rum




Preparation
1 Sautee onions in vegetable oil just until soft. Add guava paste, tomato paste, sugar, star anise, allspice, curry powder, and vinegar. Simmer gently about 15 minutes (until guava paste has melted).
2 Remove from heat and cool slightly. Discard star anise and put in blender. Add lime juice and rum; puree until smooth.
NOTES:
1 I doubled the amount of lime juice; and if I make this again will add the zest of one lime.
2 After initial tasting, I added 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder.


Yield: 1 1/4 cups

Recipe Type
Sauce

Recipe Source
Source: BGE Forum, BlueSmoke, 04/23/07

Bigger

It should turn yellow - and will likely develop some brown spots (which is totally fine) and be slightly soft to the touch. Place a finger on opposite sides of the fruit and squeeze, you should feel some resistance but not much. The outer layer will always be firm, so I always use the "squeeze test" rather than the "poke test." The fruit should also have a strong smell.

QPete

When you walk into the house and the smell of wild cat scent is present, you know the guava is ripe.

There are several varieties of guavas, some are rippe and ready to eat even with the skin still green.

Put the guavas to the test;
Drop it on the counter from about 6-8 inches, if it bounces like a tennis ball, is green.
If it splatts and does not bounce is over ripe.
Try for something in the middle.

J Appledog

Thanks. I LOVE guava BBQ sauce. When I was a young girl in south Florida my friends and I would go out on our horses and pick guavas by the bag full. The horses loved to eat them.

Here's another:

Guava BBQ Sauce recipe

Combine the following ingredients:

10 ounces guava jelly
2 teaspoons mustard powder
4 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin
2 shallots, minced
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons corn syrup

Combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from heat and cool.

Posted by WingsFan91 at recipegoldmine.com 6/21/01 6:20:03 am