Strawberry Guava Syrup, Paste And Pastry

Strawberry Guava Syrup, Jelly, Pastry and Paste

We have a huge strawberry guava plant in our backyard that I've ignored for years  until this year. I decided to try to use this wonderful produce. Since I cannot eat the fruit by itself because the fruit tastes tart and seedy, I found some great online recipes for jam and paste. For me the fruit tastes like tart guava. Growing up in Indonesia, I ate a variety of guavas in Indonesia but the tart ones are not my favourites.

Our Strawberry Guava bush

 

I'm so pleased to have made my own syrup, jelly and paste as it is such a rewarding experience! I was surprised to learn that this plant is native to Brazil and is known in Hawaii and Cuba too. 

I love this pastry recipe from Brazil and Cuba called pastelitos de guayaba which is basically the strawberry guava paste and cream cheese in puff pastry. 

I used the lemons from our tree when making the syrup and paste.  It's lemon season and I'm planning to use this opportunity to make lemony desserts for the first time. I can't wait to post this experience.

I'm using the recipe from An Angel In The Kitchen blogger: Using Guavas: Jelly and Paste If  you're reading this THANK YOU KATIE!

I was supposed to make jelly from the recipe but mine didn't set so I used it as a syrup instead.

Here is my experience making syrup and paste for the first time:

Syrup

After gathering the ripe red strawberry guavas, wash them well with cold water, place the fruit in a pot and cover with water. Place on a hot stove and simmer until tender and the redness of the skin blends in the water.

Prepare a bowl and place a sieve on top. Pour the fruits in the sieve saving every drop of the juice. Measuring with a cup, Pour the liquid back into the pot and bring back to the stove. Place the fruits aside.

Let the pot simmer and put in 1/2 cup of sugar for every cup of liquid for 20 minutes or until the liquid thickens a bit. My liquid didn't set to become jelly so I've used it as syrup. To make some jelly you can simply add some gelatine in the mixture following the instruction on the box for measurements.

Meanwhile, sterilise a jar but washing it with hot soapy water and putting it in the oven on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Pour the syrup in the jar, let it cool, and you can place the syrup in the fridge like me.

You can use this syrup in many ways including as a cordial and as a pancake topping.

Paste

Making the paste is the hard work! As it takes time and energy to push the mixture through the sieve. Basically we want to get the meat and skin, not the seeds.

Keep going and you'll get something like this.

Return the mixture back into the pot on medium heat, and add 1/2 cup of sugar for every cup of puree. Continue cooking and stirring until it becomes a paste consistency and doesn't stick in the pot.

Eventually you'll end up with some thing like this:

I placed mine in the fridge. It tasted like quince paste and it lasted a long time. I've been eating them with cheese and I used this paste for the pastry recipe.

So if you do have a strawberry guava tree, why not try and make syrup and paste out of it? Unless you like to eat them raw.