Tamika's Guava Jelly

by Tamika Williams
(Camrose, Montego Bay, St James, Jamaica)

Guava is a very nutricious and seasonal tropical fruit, but you can find it all year round depending on which parish in Jamaica you visit.

Here in Montego Bay the end of summer is the peak of our guava season.

Guava is a favourite for children at home on holidays as they are sweet and fleshy.

Birds and children, eating and discarding the seeds, help to propogate this most tasty fruit.

Apart from making Guava Jelly as below, Guava can be used to make Guava Juice or mixed with other fruits to make various fruit juices.

Guava has its own unique taste and once you have tried it you will be wanting more.

Guava Jelly is an old time Jamaican favourite and there are many recipes for making it.

This is my personal recipe, tried and proven and a favourite of my family and friends.

"A few guava each season keeps the doctor away all year", so let's use our natural fruits and stay healthy.

Ingredients

• 8 large guavas - approximately 1 1/2 lb
• 1 lb sugar
• 5 cups water
• A pinch of gratered nutmeg

Method

• Use a shredder to shred guava and place in a large wide pot as mixture tends to boil over
• Add all the water
• Boil for about 10 minutes (shredded guava boils quicker than diced guava)
• Allow mixture to cool completely
• Then using a large strainer, strain using hands to squeeze and rub along the strainer. This seperates pulp and seeds but allows tiny particles of fruit to seep into the liquid
• Return strained mixture to pot and bring to a boil
• Add sugar and stir until disolved
• Pay close attention to make sure mixture is not boiling over
• Jelly is ready when air bubbles are no longer on the top of mixture,
• Do NOT boil too much (about 30 minutes)
• Turn off flame and allow to partially cool
• Pour warm jelly into clean glass containers and allow to cool completely before covering.