Feral Guavas

In the area we live, there are heaps of feral guava trees. The fruits, more specifically, the seeds, are highly prized by Rainbow Lorikeets. They will hoe into barely ripe fruits which can be a bit disappointing if you had your eye on one. Thus the Lorikeet's love of the gauva, means that there are lots of feral trees around a few years after they have sampled the fruits.

It should also be noted that the Queensland fruit fly also love to attack guavas. So even if a lorikeet has not eaten part of the fruit, a fruit fly might have stung it. As the maggots like to hang around the seeds, this is not a big problem as it can be with other fruits. I just scoop out the seeds and any maggots along with them, leaving all the wonderful flesh behind. Obviously one can net your own trees to reduce bird and fruit fly attack, but it would be a bit weird to have nets over feral trees.

Guavas are a beautiful tree. Once they are more mature, their trunks are smooth and shiny with different coloured patches. One could be forgiven to almost think that they were a native Australian tree. There are many types of gauva, to be frank, I am not exactly sure which ones we have in the area. But they certainly make a nice pie. Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery has an extensive range of guava tree to delight one's taste buds.

The feral guava fruit tastes like a whole lot of tropical fruits all in one. Guavas in general have a significant number of hard little seeds which are grouped together in the centre of the fruit, almost looking like a brain when cut in half and taken out. The seeds are often discarded as they can be a bit too fibrous and crunchy (although I did find a guava and macadamia torte recipe which used the seeds).

So after a few forages through the neighbourhood, and the bottom of the pram brimming with guavas, we have been able to make a guava pie and a guava crumble. I have included the guava pie recipe below so that others can enjoy this treat as well.


Guava Pie

Ingredients:

2.5 tablespoons (Au) flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pastry for a 9-inch 2-crust pie
4 cups guava, peeled, seeded and sliced
• 1 tablespoon (Au) lemon juice
3 tablespoons cold butter, cut in small pieces

Preparation:

Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt; set aside. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; fill with sliced guava, slightly mounding in the centre. Sprinkle the flour and sugar mixture evenly over the guavas. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and dot with butter. Cover with the top pastry and flute edge. Cut several vents into top crust to let steam escape. Bake in a preheated 230° C oven for 10 minutes, then reduce to 170° C and bake 30 to 40 minutes longer.

Other Comments:

- If you do not like things too sweet, cut the sugar slightly. Another option is to add a bit more lemon.

- Cover the edges of the pie with foil if the start getting too cooked. I did this about 20 minutes into the over all baking time and the results were perfect.