Guava Fruit Juice
14.5.21
| Recipe by Renz
On the hunt for a tropical and refreshing fruit drink? This fresh guava fruit
juice is pure pulp, spices, and sweetened to thirst the quench on these hot
summer days. Perfect for those backyard get-togethers.
Another tropical fruit juice that we just loved making was guava.
Since moving to the US, I hardly get to see fresh guava. It's actually considered to be "exotic" like a soursop. So when I saw it at the farmer's market I grabbed a few to make some juice and reminisce.
This is a tropical drink that is very refreshing and uses the entire fruit.
This recipe is an easy one and only uses about 5 ingredients. It can really just be three main ones if you think about it.
A fresh fruit, refreshing drink that takes me back to growing up in Tobago.
This tropical fruit is native to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America. It has yellowish or even sometimes green skin. And there can be different colors on the inside. It can vary from pink guava to white.
They taste very sweet when ripe. I would say it could be as sweet as a strawberry. Obviously, it ranges depending on the time it's picked and also the variety. Personally, I find the pink inside ones are much sweeter.
Ripe guava does have a very strong scent. I remember when my dad used to be making jam, the smell would be thick in the air. Or even when they were falling off the tree in abundance and rotting, the smell was still very sweet.
We also use it to make chow, by adding a little salt, pepper and bandania and make a quick snack.
Guava and its juice (including its leaves) have a lot of health benefits. This article from Shape goes into detail about guavas and their benefits.
It has a powerhouse of nutrients that seems to benefit all parts of the body. It is actually known as a superfood.
It includes assisting with:
among other things. If you want to get more details about the benefits of guava fruit juice, I suggest taking a good look at this in-depth article about guavas.
Guavas are ready for juice when it's yellowish on the outside. Touch it to make sure it is not hard to touch. You want the skin to be tender. It will dent a little when lightly touched.
Make sure there are no blemishes or bruises on the skin.
The aroma will also be very strong once it is ripe.
If you happen to get green ones and are leaving them to ripen, have them in a cool area at all times. Make sure none of the skins are broken cause it will encourage fruit flies.
Also, try not to touch them too much in the ripening stage. This can lead to getting a few blemishes and I realized while ripening those areas start to get darker faster.
Now that you have picked your best guavas now it's time to make this really easy recipe for this delicious juice.
You will need:
Make sure you wash them well. This fruit is very much prone to worms, so make sure you give them a good wash to rid away any debris that might be hanging around.
Chop up the guavas. The inside flesh is what is the real fruit flavor. So we want to get access to it when we are boiling it. You can also get to taste it here to see how sweet it is.
Put the chopped fruits in water along with the bay leaf and cinnamon sticks. Leave back about a cup of water. But make sure that the water is at least the same level as the fruit in the pot.
Bring them all to a boil, remove from heat, and leave it to cool.
Once it's cool, strain the liquid into a large bowl.
Some people like to have guava pulp included in the juice, and some people do not. I am the latter. No pulp, please.
If you do want to have pulp it's pretty easy to include. Remove the bay leaf and sticks from the mixture after it cools. Then add the fruit and water to a blender, and blend.
Use your strainer (or muslin cloth if you don't have a juice strainer) to get the juice from the blended mixture. I would still strain since guava has seeds and you don't really want to drink them. But if you don't mind seed grits, then you can skip that step.
You then need to sweeten up the strained guava juice with the remaining water, and sugar and add your flavoring of essences, bitters, and if using rum.
I suggest tasting as you make. The flavor of the fruit will vary so you might need less or more water and sugar than I suggested. My recipe is a base.
Make sure the guavas are ripe. Green guavas are very sour. Once the flesh is soft you are good to go.
If you want a thinner juice, you can always add more water when "sweetening" up.
You can also add in some lemon or lime juice if you want it to be a little tangy in flavor. You will then need to add more sugar to taste.
You can also add a little bit of grated ginger to the mix, like a tablespoon, when it's boiling on the stove.
Sometimes people would make juice and leave it out to sit for a little bit to make the flavors blend before putting it into the fridge. Guava juice ferments pretty quickly. And gives that almost wine flavor. Do not leave this out of the fridge for more than 6 hours.
Get it refrigerated as quickly as possible.
Once there, this juice will last for about 7 - 8 days. If there is pulp included it will last for a shorter time.
We would make these in batches when we got really large amounts of fruits harvested. We would then boil them and strain the guava juice blend and then put it to freeze. (Do not sweeten).
When ready to use, defrost and sweeten to your liking.
Guava juice, though chilled, is best served with a handful of ice.
I just love getting fresh juices when we could. It's not until you don't have access to things you realize how lucky you are.
If you want to try some more drinks that I use fresh fruits to create, check these out:
Another tropical fruit juice that we just loved making was guava.
Since moving to the US, I hardly get to see fresh guava. It's actually considered to be "exotic" like a soursop. So when I saw it at the farmer's market I grabbed a few to make some juice and reminisce.
This is a tropical drink that is very refreshing and uses the entire fruit.
This recipe is an easy one and only uses about 5 ingredients. It can really just be three main ones if you think about it.
A fresh fruit, refreshing drink that takes me back to growing up in Tobago.
What are guavas?
This tropical fruit is native to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America. It has yellowish or even sometimes green skin. And there can be different colors on the inside. It can vary from pink guava to white.
They taste very sweet when ripe. I would say it could be as sweet as a strawberry. Obviously, it ranges depending on the time it's picked and also the variety. Personally, I find the pink inside ones are much sweeter.
Ripe guava does have a very strong scent. I remember when my dad used to be making jam, the smell would be thick in the air. Or even when they were falling off the tree in abundance and rotting, the smell was still very sweet.
We also use it to make chow, by adding a little salt, pepper and bandania and make a quick snack.
The benefits of guava juice
Guava and its juice (including its leaves) have a lot of health benefits. This article from Shape goes into detail about guavas and their benefits.
It has a powerhouse of nutrients that seems to benefit all parts of the body. It is actually known as a superfood.
It includes assisting with:
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Strengthening vision
- Maintaining blood sugar
- Boosting immunity
- Promoting healthy skin
- And is also an excellent source of Vitamin C and antioxidants.
among other things. If you want to get more details about the benefits of guava fruit juice, I suggest taking a good look at this in-depth article about guavas.
How to choose the best guava for juice.
Guavas are ready for juice when it's yellowish on the outside. Touch it to make sure it is not hard to touch. You want the skin to be tender. It will dent a little when lightly touched.
Make sure there are no blemishes or bruises on the skin.
The aroma will also be very strong once it is ripe.
If you happen to get green ones and are leaving them to ripen, have them in a cool area at all times. Make sure none of the skins are broken cause it will encourage fruit flies.
Also, try not to touch them too much in the ripening stage. This can lead to getting a few blemishes and I realized while ripening those areas start to get darker faster.
How to make guava juice
Now that you have picked your best guavas now it's time to make this really easy recipe for this delicious juice.
You will need:
- Ripened guavas - I used white guavas (because that was what I found but it's the same with any fresh ones you have). Obviously, if you use pink ones, the juice would have a pink color.
- Sugar - granulated sugar is best, to not distort the color of the juice
- Water
- Bayleaf
- Cinnamon sticks
- Essence - vanilla and/or mixed
- Bitters
- A little rum - this is optional
Make sure you wash them well. This fruit is very much prone to worms, so make sure you give them a good wash to rid away any debris that might be hanging around.
Chop up the guavas. The inside flesh is what is the real fruit flavor. So we want to get access to it when we are boiling it. You can also get to taste it here to see how sweet it is.
Put the chopped fruits in water along with the bay leaf and cinnamon sticks. Leave back about a cup of water. But make sure that the water is at least the same level as the fruit in the pot.
Bring them all to a boil, remove from heat, and leave it to cool.
Once it's cool, strain the liquid into a large bowl.
Some people like to have guava pulp included in the juice, and some people do not. I am the latter. No pulp, please.
If you do want to have pulp it's pretty easy to include. Remove the bay leaf and sticks from the mixture after it cools. Then add the fruit and water to a blender, and blend.
Use your strainer (or muslin cloth if you don't have a juice strainer) to get the juice from the blended mixture. I would still strain since guava has seeds and you don't really want to drink them. But if you don't mind seed grits, then you can skip that step.
You then need to sweeten up the strained guava juice with the remaining water, and sugar and add your flavoring of essences, bitters, and if using rum.
I suggest tasting as you make. The flavor of the fruit will vary so you might need less or more water and sugar than I suggested. My recipe is a base.
Tips and Tricks
Make sure the guavas are ripe. Green guavas are very sour. Once the flesh is soft you are good to go.
If you want a thinner juice, you can always add more water when "sweetening" up.
You can also add in some lemon or lime juice if you want it to be a little tangy in flavor. You will then need to add more sugar to taste.
You can also add a little bit of grated ginger to the mix, like a tablespoon, when it's boiling on the stove.
How long does this juice last?
Sometimes people would make juice and leave it out to sit for a little bit to make the flavors blend before putting it into the fridge. Guava juice ferments pretty quickly. And gives that almost wine flavor. Do not leave this out of the fridge for more than 6 hours.
Get it refrigerated as quickly as possible.
Once there, this juice will last for about 7 - 8 days. If there is pulp included it will last for a shorter time.
We would make these in batches when we got really large amounts of fruits harvested. We would then boil them and strain the guava juice blend and then put it to freeze. (Do not sweeten).
When ready to use, defrost and sweeten to your liking.
Guava juice, though chilled, is best served with a handful of ice.
I just love getting fresh juices when we could. It's not until you don't have access to things you realize how lucky you are.
If you want to try some more drinks that I use fresh fruits to create, check these out:
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