Guava Jam

There are two types of people: Those who love guavas with passion, and those who can't even stand being in the same room with it. With its strong aroma, it may not be too surprising that it is related to myrtle. I've been having hard time finding innovative recipes for it. But they're out there, and also inside my head. Adding guava juice, pulp or nectar to smoothies is a no brainer (try it with coconut milk, banana and mango; but avoid orange juice as it will make it taste like orange toothpaste! I sweat!), chutney, fresh salsa (that is so easy that doesn't even require a recipe!), and inside a curry. 

Recipes I've been dreaming of are guava sorbet and/or gelato, guava creme brûlée, guava cheesecake, to name a few. Guava jam is our family tradition each fall, because no matter how much we eat it, there are always some fruit that don't get snatched in time and taste too mushy or stale and can only be salvaged if turned into jam. 

Like quince, it will become pink-orange with cooking. It's quite astounding how much fall fruit have in common: strong personalities, strong aromas, interesting textures. And just like quince, it is easily candied into a jelly-like confection (look for it in Mexican stores, sometimes it comes in a roll). 

I like to make my jams on the less-sweet side, so ration of 1:2 sugar to fruit. i..e: One kilo of guavas to 500g of sugar. Squeeze some lemon juice over the fruit, add the sugar, and add a couple of cinnamon sticks and between 5-10 cardamom pods. Clove buds are also an option (I leave them out because they can overpower easily). Another seasoning direction which is entirely different is add a couple of small, dried chilli peppers to the jam. 

Cook over medium-high heat while stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves completely. This could take about 10-15 minutes. Don't rush it by increasing the heat as to avoid any unnecessary scorching.  

Once the sugar is completely dissolved, reduce the heat to low and cook while stirring frequently with a spoon, until a spoon that is dipped into the jam is covered and remains covered. This would take about an hour. 

Sterilize your jars and fill them while the jam is still hot. Use a hot-bath method if you're really serious about your jamming and are planning to sell or give away or made a big batch. Mine usually gets eaten pretty much right away so I'm not the most diligent sterilizer beyond rinsing them with boiling water and filling and covering right away, turning the jar upside down to create a vacuum-like seal. Which gets popped up within less than a week and eaten in about as fast...