Guava/ABC Wednesday

G is for Guava

Guava is a tropical fruit native to Central America and northern South America.  It belongs to the Myrtle family, genus Psidium (or pomegranate) with about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees.  It is known as Goiaba in Portuguese and Guayaba in Spanish.  Guava fruit is often bitter when unripe, soft and sweet when ripe---tastes something between a pear and strawberry, tangy with a citrus flavor.    The fruit is usually green before maturity, but becomes yellow, maroon or light green when ripe.  

Guava is one of my favorite fruits, and one of the first trees I climbed when I was a kid.  There were a couple of guava trees in our yard and I virtually lived on guava trees--my grandfather called me a guava-eating bat.  

Source

The guava in our yard has small fruits, about the size of a lemon, and has a distinct aroma when it ripened.  The pulp also turned red when the fruit was ripe.  It's the kind of guava that is used as a souring agent in sinigang, a popular Filipino soup dish.

Guavas produce fruits all-year round.  My mother used to cook ripe guavas in sugar and coconut milk---it was my father's favorite dessert.

There  is  a  fruit  stand  a few blocks from my apartment  selling guapple, or  Apple Guava---I buy 2 kilos every 3 to 4 days.  From  cookies, chips and  chocolates, I've switched to guapple, a  healthier snack.  Guapple is an extra-large variety--a fruit weighs about 500 grams, about  5 to 6 inches long  It has a thick and white-fleshed fruit, and the crunchiness of an apple.

Guavas  are  a  good  source of  Vitamin C  and A,  dietary  fiber,  folic acid, potassium,  copper  and manganese.  It has a low calorie profile, and a  single guava fruit contains about four times  the amount of Vitamin C of an orange.  Fruits are usually eaten raw, ripe fruits can be processed to jelly, wine and jam preserves.  

Apple Guava, Psidium guajava

Guava leaves have been used in folk medicine for as long as I can remember.  Decoction of leaves in water is a good  cure  for  diarrhea---my mother still treats my dog with this concoction when he has the runs.  It  is  also used as an astringent,  mouthwash  for  swollen gums,  reduces fever and anti-spasmodic.  Bark  and  leaves  are  used  in  childbirth  to expel  the placenta.  The bark is recommended in making complex cosmetics.  Young tender leaves chewed or crushed applied to tooth cavity acts as eugenol for toothaches. 

But there's  one use  of  guava  leaves  that would make  you shudder.  In  far-flung areas of the country where traditional circumcision  method is  still  being  practiced,  pre-adolescent boys who undergo this procedure are given  guava leaves  to  chew  on to  distract them from the pain.   The  chewed  guava  leaves  is  applied to the cut foreskin with the dressing.  It is believed that guava leaves  have  antiseptic and  anti-hemorrhagic  properties. I  remember over-hearing  my  brothers  and male cousins  talking  about  some  boy  we  knew  in  childhood who swallowed the chewed guava leaves instead of spitting it out in the middle of traditional circumcision.  Poor boy!  But I couldn't help but laugh at the thought!  I hope I wouldn't run into the guy in one of our elementary school reunions.:p

Guava has been found to be beneficial to people suffering from asthma, bacterial infections, convulsions, high blood pressure, obesity, oral ulcers, poor circulation, prolonged menstruation, scurvy, swollen gums, toothache, and lung congestion.

Linking to ABC Wednesday

J/ABC Wednesday

J is for Jackfruit

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), locally known as langka, nangka, is a species of tree of the mulberry family native to Southeast Asia, and is believed to have originated in the southwestern rain forests of India.  Fresh jackfruit can be found in the markets here---it can be eaten unripe (young) when cooked, or ripe uncooked.  The seeds maybe boiled or baked like beans.  It is usually cooked with coconut milk (ginataang langka) and pork, dried fish or shrimps.  It is also available canned or bottled in sugar syrup, or frozen.

The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous, and is a source of dietary fiber. The flavor is similar to a tart banana. Ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet with subtle flavoring. It can be used to make a variety of dishes, including custards, cakes, halo-halo (crushed ice with a variety of fruits, milk and sugar); it also adds flavor, color and aroma to Lambanog, a local coconut arrack. Ripe jackfruit arils are sometimes seeded, fried or freeze-dried and sold as jackfruit chips.

It is one of my favorite fruits (ripe) for dessert.

The jackfruit tree is well suited to tropical lowlands, and its fruit is the largest tree-borne fruit, reaching as much as 80 pounds (36 kg) in weight and up to 36 inches (90 cm) long and 20 inches (50 cm) in diameter.  The wood of the tree is widely used in furniture, doors and windows, and traditionally used for musical instruments, specially as a hull of a kutiyapi, a two-stringed, fretted boat-lute.  Wiki

a jackfruit tree at my aunt's yard

Linking to ABC Wednesday

Mango/Mellow Yellow Monday

A fabulous variety of mango I got from ECJ Farms.  This mango is about the size of a baby's head, and weighs more than a kilo.  And it tastes absolutely great--it doesn't have the "antibiotic" flavor and fiber of an apple mango!  ECJ Farms grow this variety in Dipolog.  I kept coming back for more until ECJ Farms' store in Tiendesitas ran out of stock.:p

Linking to Mellow Yellow Monday