
[Spanish guayaba, perhaps of Arawakan origin.]
The fruit of the guava tree, a tree originally from the American tropics. The edible skin of the guava encloses a very aromatic and slightly tart flesh that contains edible seeds.
Storing
At room temperature: for ripening.
In the fridge: ripe, a few days.
Preparing
Remove the skin or leave it on; cut the fruit into two then, according to taste, remove the seeds.
Serving Ideas
Guava is eaten plain or cooked, in sweet or savory dishes. It is cooked into jam, jelly or chutney. It is added to sauces, fruit salads, pies, puddings, ice creams and drinks.
Nutritional Information
| water | 86% |
| protein | 0.8 g |
| fat | 0.6 g |
| carbohydrates | 12 g |
| fiber | 5.6 g |
| calories | 50 |
| per 3.5 oz/100 g | |
Buying
Choose: a smooth, unbruised guava, neither too soft nor too hard.
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For more information on guava, visit Britannica.com.
A plant, Psidium guajava, of tropical America. It is a shrub or low tree which belongs to the myrtle family (Myrtaceae). The fruit is a berry, yellow when ripe, and quite variable in size depending on variety and growing conditions. The guava is quite aromatic, sweet, and juicy. It is used mostly for jellies and preserves, but also as a fresh fruit. See also Fruit; Myrtales.
Fruit of the central and south American tropical shrub Psidium guajava, eaten raw or preserved as guava jelly.
[GWAH-vah] This sweet, fragrant tropical fruit grows in its native South America as well as in California, Florida and Hawaii. There are many varieties of guavas, which can range in size from a small egg to a medium apple. Typically, the fruit is oval in shape and about 2 inches in diameter. The color of the guava's thin skin can range from yellow to red to purple-black, the flesh from pale yellow to bright red. Guavas are usually only available fresh in the region where they're grown. Choose those that give to gentle palm pressure but that have not yet begun to show spots. To be eaten raw, guavas should be very ripe. Store green guavas at room temperature, ripe ones in the refrigerator's vegetable drawer for up to 4 days. Guavas make excellent jams, preserves and sauces. Canned whole guavas as well as juice, jams, jellies, preserves and sauce are available in many supermarkets. Fresh guavas are a good source of vitamins A and C. See also guava paste.
Small tree (Psidium guava) bearing an edible pale yellow fruit with pink acid-sweet juicy flesh. Native to tropical and subtropical South America. Domesticated by c.3000 bc.
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| Guavas | |
|---|---|
| Apple Guava (Psidium guajava) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Subclass: | Rosidae |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Subfamily: | Myrtoideae |
| Tribe: | Myrteae |
| Genus: | Psidium L.[1] |
| Species | |
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About 100, see text |
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| Synonyms | |
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Calyptropsidium O.Berg |
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Guavas are plants in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) genus Psidium (meaning "pomegranate" in Latin),[2] which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Guavas are now cultivated and naturalized throughout the tropics and subtropics in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, subtropical regions of North America, and Australia.
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Contents
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The most frequently encountered species, and the one often simply referred to as "the guava", is the Apple Guava (Psidium guajava).[citation needed]
Guavas are typical Myrtoideae, with tough dark leaves that are opposite, simple, elliptic to ovate and 5–15 centimetres (2.0–5.9 in) long. The flowers are white, with five petals and numerous stamens.
The genera Accara and Feijoa (= Acca, Pineapple Guava) were formerly included in Psidium.[citation needed]
The term "guava" appears to derive from Arawak guayabo "guava tree", via the Spanish guayaba. It has been adapted in many European languages: goiaba (Portuguese), guava (Romanian, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, also Greek Γκουάβα and Russian Гуава), Guave (Dutch and German), goyave (French), gujawa (Polish).
Outside of Europe, the Arabic "جوافة" j(a)wafa~gawafa, the Japanese guaba (グアバ), the Tamil "koiyaa" (கொய்யா), the Tongan kuava and probably also the Tagalog bayabas are ultimately derived from the Arawak term.
Another term for guavas is pera or variants thereof. It is common around the western Indian Ocean and probably derives from Spanish or Portuguese, which means "pear", or from some language of southern India, though it is so widespread in the region that its origin cannot be clearly discerned any more. Pera itself is used in Malayalam, Sinhala and Swahili. In Marathi it is peru (पेरू), in Bengali pearah (পেয়ারা), in Assamese "Madhuriam",in Kannada it is pearaley ('ಪೇರಲೆ') or seebe kaayi ('ಸೀಬೇಕಾಯಿ ') and in Dhivehi feyru. In Telugu language it is "Jama kaya". It is called pijuli in Oriya language in eastern India.
Guava is also called Amrood ('अमरुद', 'امرود') in North India and Pakistan, which is possibly a variant of Armoot meaning "pear" in Arabic and Turkish languages, and possibly linked to the Moghul occupation of this region.
Additional terms for guavas from their native range are, for example, sawintu (Quechua) and xālxocotl (Nāhuatl) Another term for guavas (Ethiopian, Amharic) is "Zeytuna".
Psidium species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, mainly moths like the Ello Sphinx (Erinnyis ello), Eupseudosoma aberrans, E. involutum, and Hypercompe icasia. Mites like Pronematus pruni and Tydeus munsteri are known to parasitize the Apple Guava (P. guajava) and perhaps other species. The bacterium Erwinia psidii causes rot diseases of the Apple Guava.
The fruit is not only relished by humans, but by many mammals and birds as well. The spread of introduced guavas owes much to this fact, since animals eat the fruit and disperse the seeds in their droppings.
In several tropical regions, including Hawaii, some species (namely Strawberry Guava, P. littorale, and to a lesser extent Apple Guava) have become invasive species. On the other hand, several species have become very rare due to habitat destruction and at least one (Jamaican Guava, P. dumetorum), is already extinct.
Guava wood is used for meat smoking in Hawaii and is used at barbecue competitions across the United States. In Cuba and Mexico the leaves are used in barbecues.
Guava fruit, usually 4 to 12 centimetres (1.6 to 4.7 in) long, are round or oval depending on the species. The outer skin may be rough, often with a bitter taste, or soft and sweet. Varying between species, the skin can be any thickness, is usually green before maturity, but becomes yellow, maroon, or green when ripe.
Guava fruit generally have a pronounced and typical fragrance, similar to lemon rind but less sharp. Guava pulp may be sweet or sour, tasting something between pear and strawberry, off-white ("white" guavas) to deep pink ("red" guavas), with the seeds in the central pulp of variable number and hardness, depending on species.
Guavas are cultivated in many tropical and subtropical countries. Several species are grown commercially; apple guava and its cultivars are those most commonly traded internationally.
Mature trees of most species are fairly cold-hardy and can survive temperatures slightly colder than 25 °F (−4 °C) for short periods of time, but younger plants will likely freeze to the ground.[3]
Guavas are also of interest to home growers in temperate areas. They are one of the few tropical fruits that can grow to fruiting size in pots indoors. When grown from seed, guavas can bear fruit as soon as two years, or as long as eight years.
In Hawaii, guava is eaten with soy sauce and vinegar. Occasionally, a pinch of sugar and black pepper are added to the mixture. The fruit is cut up and dipped into the sauce.
In Mexico, the Agua fresca beverage is popularly made with Guava. The entire fruit is a key ingredient in punch, and the juice extract is often used in culinary sauces (hot or cold), as well as artisan candies, dried snacks, fruit bars, desserts, or dipped in Chamoy. Pulque de Guava is a popular blend of the native alcoholic beverage.
In Pakistan and India, guava is often eaten raw, typically cut into quarters with a pinch of salt and pepper and sometimes cayenne powder/masala. Street vendors often sell guava fruit for a few rupees each.
In the Philippines, ripe guava is used in cooking sinigang.
Guava juice is very popular in Cuba, Costa Rica, Egypt, Mexico, Colombia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Malaysia,Indonesia and South Africa.
The fruit is also often prepared as a dessert, in fruit salads. In Asia, fresh guava slices are often dipped in preserved prune powder or salt. In India it is often sprinkled with red rock salt, which is very tart.
Because of its high level of pectin, guavas are extensively used to make candies, preserves, jellies, jams, and marmalades (such as Brazilian goiabada and Colombian bocadillo), and also for juices and aguas frescas.
"Red" guavas can be used as the base of salted products such as sauces, substituting for tomatoes, especially for those sensitive to the latter's acidity. In Asia, a drink is made from an infusion of guava fruits and leaves. In Brazil, the infusion made with guava tree leaves (chá-de-goiabeira, i.e. "tea" of guava tree leaves) is considered medicinal.
Guavas are rich in dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, folic acid, and the dietary minerals, potassium, copper and manganese. Having a generally broad, low-calorie profile of essential nutrients, a single common guava (P. guajava) fruit contains about four times the amount of vitamin C as an orange.[4]
However, nutrient content varies across guava cultivars. Although the strawberry guava (P. littorale var. cattleianum), notably containing 90 mg of vitamin C per serving, has about 25% of the amount found in more common varieties, its total vitamin C content in one serving still provides 100% of the Dietary Reference Intake for adult males.[5]
Guavas contain both carotenoids and polyphenols like (+)-gallocatechin,[6] guaijaverin, leucocyanidin and amritoside[7]–the major classes of antioxidant pigments – giving them relatively high potential antioxidant value among plant foods.[8] As these pigments produce the fruit skin and flesh color, guavas that are red-orange have more pigment content as polyphenol, carotenoid and pro-vitamin A, retinoid sources than yellow-green ones.[9]
| Common Guava, per 165 g of individual fruit portion | |
|---|---|
| Calories | 112 |
| Moisture | 133 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8.9 g (36%) |
| Protein | 4.2 g (8%) |
| Fat | 1.6 g (2%) |
| Ash | 2.3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 23.6 g (8%) |
| Calcium | 30 mg (3%) |
| Phosphorus | 66 mg (7%) |
| Iron | 0.4 mg (2%) |
| Potassium | 688 mg (20%) |
| Copper | 0.4 mg (19%) |
| Beta-carotene (Vitamin A) | 1030 IU (21%) |
| Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) | 377 mg (628%) |
| Thiamin (Vitamin B1) | 0.1 mg (7%) |
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 0.1 mg (4%) |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 1.8 mg (9%) |
| Folic acid | 81 mcg (20%) |
% Daily Value in parentheses. Nutrient data source: US Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database from Nutritiondata.com
Since the 1950s, guavas – particularly the leaves – have been the subject for diverse research on their constituents, pharmacological properties and history in folk medicine.[10] Most research, however, has been conducted on apple guava (P. guajava), with other species remaining unstudied. From preliminary medical research in laboratory models, extracts from apple guava leaves or bark are implicated in therapeutic mechanisms against cancer, bacterial infections, inflammation and pain.[11][12][13] Essential oils from guava leaves display anti-cancer activity in vitro.[14]
Guava leaves are used in folk medicine as a remedy for diarrhea[15] and, as well as the bark, for their supposed antimicrobial properties and as an astringent. Guava leaves or bark are used in traditional treatments against diabetes.[16][17][18] In Trinidad, a tea made from young leaves is used for diarrhea, dysentery and fever.[19]
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Media related to Psidium at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Psidium at Wikispecies
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - guava, guajava
Nederlands (Dutch)
guave (boom/vrucht)
Français (French)
n. - goyave, goyavier
Deutsch (German)
n. - Guave (Frucht)
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) γουάβα, καρπός της γουάβας
Português (Portuguese)
n. - goiabeira (f) (Bot.)
Español (Spanish)
n. - guayaba
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - guavaträd, guavafrukt
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
番石榴
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 番石榴
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 반석류, 반석 열매, 대인 살상용 탄알
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - グアバ, バンジロウ
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) جوافه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - גואבה, גוייבה
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