Yay - its Feijoa time! In the autumn the feijoa ripens. This is a little green smooth skinned fruit, about the size of a kiwifruit. It is sometimes called the pineapple guava and is closely related to the guava. It originated (according to Wikipedia) from the highlands of Brazil.
It has a sweet, aromatic flavor. The flesh is juicy and is divided into a clear jelly-like seed pulp and a firmer, slightly gritty opaque flesh nearer the skin. The fruit drops when ripe, but can be picked from the tree prior to the drop to prevent bruising.
It is also possible to buy Feijoa yoghurt, fruit drinks, ice-cream. It can be freeze dried and is used in a popular NZ made breakfast cereal. The Feijoa can also be cooked and used in dishes where one would use stewed fruit.
The feijoa has a relatively short shelf life so is not exported in great quantities.
I love feijoas in a smoothie with a banana as well. We have a tree at our beach house so come home all stocked up with this delicious little fruit. When we run out of them there are always bags out by the roadside - usually $2 for a big bag. The trees are prolific bearers and everyone who has a tree usually are trying to give away or sell the surplus!
4 comments:
Yum they sound nice, are they a little like a lychee type of taste? That's what I imagine them to taste like.
Can't see our local Asda stocking them though!
I have/had a cherry tree in the garden, however last year we got very little fruit and I'm convinced the erratic weather has killed it as there isn't so much as a sniff of a bud as yet. Maybe It's just waiting a while longer?
Probably a guava would be the closest in taste that I can think of.
I hope that your cherry tree still lives! Perhaps you could break off a small twig and see if it is green inside.
Wow! Seriously, I learn something new each time I visit your blog! I had never heard of the Feijoa before! I'd love to see what one tastes like! I don't think we can get them here. I've never seen or heard of them before you posted this! :)
P.S. When I saw the title "Feijoa", I thought, "Hey! That sounds like something from Brazil!". My Brazilian students prepared a dish for me called "Feijoada".
Hi Chrissy - the dish sounds very much as if it has feijoas in it!
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