How to Eat Guava: 4 Tips for Purchasing Guava

Guava is a tropical fruit with bright pink or yellow-green skin and white or pink flesh. Ripe guava fruit has a sweet taste and smell, whereas unripe guava has a musky scent. Guava fruits grow in many tropical regions in Central America, South America, Asia, and North America, including Florida, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Mexico. There are many types of guava trees, including lemon guava and apple guava.

Fresh guava is rich in antioxidants and nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, and dietary fiber. There are also many health benefits of guava; eating the fruit can help manage blood pressure, high cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. The high fiber content can assist in remedying constipation and other digestion issues.

Follow these tips to purchase guava at your local grocery store or farmers’ market:

1. 1. Check for bruises or blemishes. Look for a guava without blemishes, cuts, or bruises, which can affect the flavor.
2. 2. Inspect the fruit’s skin for ripeness. Guavas come in several colors; strawberry guava is ripe when dark red and free of green coloring. Other varieties of guava get a light green or bright yellow skin when ripe, and unripe guava will be closer to dark green. If you buy unripe guavas, you can ripen them on the counter at home. Store them in a paper bag to speed up the ripening process.
3. 3. Pick up and squeeze the fruit. A ripe guava fruit should have a little give or feel soft when you squeeze it in your hand.
4. 4. Smell the fruit. Unripe guava gives off a musky smell, whereas a ripe guava has a strong sweet scent.

You can eat guava in many ways; make guava juice, or use guava purée to make ice cream, guava jam, or jelly. If you opt to eat the fruit whole as a snack or in a fruit salad, follow these steps to peel and cut guava:

1. 1. Wash the guava. Rinse the guava under cold running water to remove any dirt or debris.
2. 2. Cut the guava in half. Place the guava on a cutting board and use a sharp serrated knife to cut the guava in half. You can then slice the guava into smaller wedges.
3. 3. Remove the skin and seeds (optional). Both the skin and the guava seeds are edible, but you can remove them by cutting off the skin and scooping out the seeds with a spoon. You can then eat the cut guava fruit.

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