Exotic Guava Vitamin C and less calories

Pure health: the guava
In the winter months, fruits from distant lands provide variety. The guava has a pleasant sweet-sour aroma that is reminiscent of a mixture of pear and fig. The exotic fruit tastes pure and as juice, but also in fruit salad, sorbet and quark dishes. It can be perfectly processed into jelly, jam and chutneys.

Guavas can lower blood pressure. (Image: jantima - fotolia)

The mus is used for cakes and pastries, while guava compote is an interesting contrast to savory meat dishes. The guava is very healthy and, with an average of 273 mg per 100 g, is one of the richest sources of vitamin C in the world. The content is three times that of a kiwi (93 mg per 100 g). Other valuable ingredients include carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lycopene, B vitamins, the dietary fiber pectin and the minerals potassium, phosphorus and iron. The fruit contains only 34 kilocalories per 100 g and is therefore ideal for the slim line.

The guava (Psidium guajava) belongs to the botanical family of the myrtle family and probably has its home in tropical Central America. Today it is cultivated mainly in Brazil, Mexico, the USA and many Caribbean islands.

The evergreen tree is three to ten feet high and bears roundish to pear-shaped fruits that are about the size of an apple. Until just before maturity, the fruit is green and hard. Then it discolors yellowish with small black dots and exudes an intense floral scent.

The shell is edible, but it tastes very bitter. Therefore, the fruit is usually peeled or sliced ​​thin after washing and spooned out like a kiwi. The pulp is firm and juicy, sometimes a bit slimy and depending on the variety greenish, yellow, white, pink or red colored. The small, edged seeds can be eaten without chewing.

The guava is available year round in stores. Watch out for a smooth shell that will yield slightly when touched by the finger. Since the guava is very sensitive to pressure, it usually comes to the supermarket immature. At room temperature, however, it ripens quickly and should then be eaten quickly. Heike Kreutz, bzfe