Guavas- how are they eaten?

I have a pinepple guava tree (feijoa sellowiana) that I’ve grown to love over the years, although I thought it was weird tasting at first.
I just bought some green-to-yellow guavas, with whitish insides, wondering how they compare to my “guavas”. At first I peeled one, then I realized that the peels are edible. But the seeds- my God, it’s like chewing buckshot. It tastes kind of weird, too, and smells awful.
How do you eat guavas?

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Scoop out the seeds. They go right through your system.

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I eat the whole thing. Sadly guava season is done for now here.

Not a big Guava fan. Used to use it in some tropical drinks… but prefer pineapple, papaya, and passion fruit.

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Like buckshot! :smiley:

More seriously, agree, just scoop them out. I’m kind of naïve about how many types there may be but the ones we get here have a fairly thick fleshy-area without seeds and a central mushier area with seeds. I eat the fleshy part as is and put the mushy stuff in a strainer and try to mash out the juice. TBH, most often we mix guava chunks with other fruits or use in smoothies rather than eating them straight up the way we do other fruits.

No one here is a huge fan - just “okay” - but we tend to buy some every so often because the kids would forget and argue “yes I DO like it”. There are several less-common fruits here in that category. Those “star fruit” things and pomelos come to mind.

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When I was travelling in Asia for 2 years, I must have eaten them almost every day. Mainly at breakfast or to take back for snacks. This was mainly due to them being overwhelming ( apart from bananas),the cheapest fruit to buy

The missus thought they tasted of feet ( so did the SIL). She would thought eat an unripe one. I love them and always had to find a ripe one for me and less ripe one for the missus. We were on a budget, we couldn’t afford mango every day.

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I have eaten various kinds of guavas: harder ones with white flesh, softer ones that are pink, etc. I eat the skin and seeds, and yes, it’s not fun digging the seeds out of one’s teeth.
I like them both ripe and unripe (kind of hard). For me, guavas are a great vehicle for chaat masala or just salt + red chilli powder. (I love unripe sour mangoes with chaat masala or salt + RCP).
I also like guava juice.

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With you on the varieties and liking them both when they’re crunchy and when they are softer. I don’t like them too soft. I’m surprised by how many people here have said they don’t like them, as I think guavas are absolutely delicious, and definitely do not understand how they could taste like feet. On the other hand a friend used to say papayas tasted like vomit to her, and while I don’t mind them, I could sort of understand what she was referring to.

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Yeah, I did notice that…

Lol, I love the smell and taste of guava, but eating guava fruit is always a mix of enjoyment and annoyance. I eat them like apples; bite into them whole. I always start eating the seeds too, but after getting tired of them, I move to spitting out or digging out what I can. It’s probably why guava is always a one and done for me. Eat one once and I’m good for the next year or two.

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Thanks for that input, I’m inclined to agree. DH said he thought my little 5 gallon aquarium in the kitchen had something dead in it. I went out and sniffed around, it was the clamshell with the guavas in it he was smelling. Now I have to figure out whether to eat them, compost them, or put them in the wash for the birds and javelinas.
I have the feeling that I’ll take durian over guavas going forward.

I’ve never eaten feijoa, but I love guava. Little but surprised to see so many here not liking regular guava. I only ever eat it when I’m in the tropics though. I like how it’s such a different taste than most other fruits - not so sweet but a little astringent. That works especially well when it’s hot outside. I eat it plain including seeds, or sometimes with some chilli pepper. I also love guava juice!

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I feel like when I finally get my hands on a guava again (the neighbors tree has been bare for some time and it’s just mangos everywhere now) I’m going to be very conscious of the seeds because I’ve never had an issue or given a thought to the seeds at all. Perhaps it’s because I grew up eating them.

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Now that’s going a bit too far. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: At least you get a sweet, lovely fragrance and flavor with the guava. A far cry from eating something fart-flavored like durian.

I’ve never tried juicing guava. Maybe there’s a method to extract the firebird while withholding the seeds. I do remember pink guavas having smaller and easier seeds to deal with (hard to find in my area though).

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I don’t prep them, but a nice fellow where I work makes guava fudge. He is from Puerto Rico, but picks up a ton in Florida once a year. Far as I know, it’s just guava and sugar, but he’s got us all waiting for his anual big batch of guava fudge. Got a bunch of Wisconsinites hooked.

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Uh, yeah… firebird was supposed to be flavor. :expressionless:

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Well, I sorta like durian- a little. These guavas don’t smell or taste anywhere near sweet, but I’ll try another one just to be sure.

I love guava, but have never bought them fresh or prepped them - have had juice, paste or jam/filling. Surprised when I tried durian - it wasn’t as stinky, and tasted better than I expected!

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A friend who lived in southeast Asia told me that it was like eating peach cobbler in an outhouse. Not sure I agree, but the visual always makes me smile

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Yes, that’s funny. I also think with extreme heat and humidity the aroma might be more stultifying? Not sure - sampled it up here in the mild climate of the PNW.

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