Strawberry guava, raw (red or cherry guava, organic?)

The strawberry guava ( Psidium cattleianum), is also called red guava or cherry guava.

Use in the kitchen

Strawberry guavas are 3-4 cm large, spherical fruits. They have a red skin and white flesh that contains several yellow seeds. The smell is reminiscent of strawberries. The flesh has a sweet and sour taste.

How can you eat strawberry guavas? They taste great raw as table fruit. After washing them with water, you can remove the stalk with a knife or by hand. Fresh strawberry guavas can be eaten with the peel and seeds. If they are a little older or have a thick peel, you can also scrape the flesh out of half a guava with a spoon. However, since the peel contains valuable nutrients, it is better to eat it with the fruit. Diced strawberry guavas taste delicious in a fruit salad, smoothie or as a topping for pea muesli.

Thanks to the pectin it contains, strawberry guava is suitable for making compote, jam and chutney. To do this, the fruit mass is often passed through a sieve to remove the seeds.

Vegan recipe for strawberry-guava smoothie with rice drink

Ingredients (for 2 people): 300 g strawberry guavas, 200 ml rice drink, 1 tbsp agave syrup.

Preparation: Wash the strawberry guavas well with water and cut out the stem with a knife. Briefly puree the strawberry guavas in a blender until a thick fruit mass is formed. Place a sieve over a bowl and press the fruit mass through the sieve. Put the strained fruit mass back into the blender and add the rice milk and agave syrup. Puree the mixture until a thin smoothie is formed. Add more rice milk if necessary if the mass is too thick.

Vegan recipes with strawberry guava can be found under the note: " Recipes that have the most of this ingredient ".

Purchasing - Storage

You cannot buy strawberry guavas at major retailers such as Coop, Migros, Denner, Volg, Spar, Aldi, Lidl, Rewe, Edeka, Hofer and Billa. You also cannot find the exotic fruit in organic supermarkets such as Denn's Biomarkt and Alnatura. You can sometimes buy strawberry guavas in Asian shops or from specialised fruit dealers.

In Brazil, strawberry guava is in season between September and March. ¹⁰

Storage tips

Ripe strawberry guavas only last one to two days at room temperature. For a longer shelf life, they can be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within a few days. Fruits harvested slightly unripe can be left to ripen at room temperature, as the fruit is climacteric. ⁹ Frozen fruit pieces or guava puree will last 8-10 months in the freezer.

Ingredients - Nutritional values - Calories

Raw strawberry guava (organic?) has an energy content of 69 kcal/100g. A large proportion of the calories come from carbohydrates (17 g/100g). Guava is almost fat and protein free. With 5.4 g of dietary fiber per 100 g, it is high in fiber for a fruit. ¹

Guava is known for its high content of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). However, this applies to the real guava, which covers around 285% of the daily requirement with 228 mg/100g. The strawberry guava, on the other hand, only has 37 mg/100g of vitamin C. ¹

Strawberry guava contains 292 mg/100 g of potassium, which is 15.0% of the daily requirement. Fruits with more potassium are durian (436 mg/100g) and jackfruit (448 mg/100g). Dried fruits, such as Deglet Nour dates (656 mg/100g), dried figs (680 mg), dried peaches (996 mg) or dehydrated banana (1491 mg) contain a lot of potassium. ¹ However, you should not consume too much of these because of their high sugar content.

Also included are small amounts of magnesium, phosphorus and niacin (ex vitamin B₃). ¹

You can find the complete ingredients of Strawberry Guava, the coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients in our nutritional tables.

Effects on health

Is guava healthy? Strawberry guava contains vitamins, minerals and trace elements as well as numerous secondary plant substances. The article on secondary plant substances provides an overview of the classification of the substance groups, their occurrence in foods and possible effects on humans. Large amounts of the polyphenol epicatechin, gallic acid and the flavonoid taxifolin have been detected. Quercetin, ellagic acid and anthocyanins were also detected in the fruit peel. ¹⁰

Phenolic compounds and flavonoids have antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects in vitro. ¹⁰ Studies in mice show that strawberry guava consumption has a protective effect against oxidative stress. In addition, plasma cholesterol, LDL and oxidized LDL and liver fat decreased with fruit consumption. ¹¹ In vivo studies show that strawberry guava extracts reduced breast and colon cancer cells (MCF-7 and Caco-2, respectively). However, the exact mechanisms of the antiproliferative effect remain to be further investigated. The extracts also had an antimicrobial effect against Salmonella enteritidis, possibly due to the presence of phenolic compounds that destabilize the bacterial cell membrane responsible for prokaryotic respiration. ⁹

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects

Allergic reactions to raw strawberry guavas are rarely documented. Individual cases of intolerance to real guava occur, which is why strawberry guavas also pose a potential allergy risk. ¹⁴

Folk medicine - natural medicine

Red guava is used in Brazilian folk medicine to treat diseases of the digestive system such as diarrhea, stomach pain, abdominal pain and dysentery, as well as diseases of the urogenital system, the respiratory tract and sore throats. The decoction of the boiled leaves is mainly used for this. Other parts of the plant such as fruits, stems and leaf buds are also used, but much less frequently. The essential oil also works against mosquitoes. ¹³

Ecological footprint - animal welfare

Guavas harvested unripe can be transported to Europe by ship, so they have a smaller ecological footprint due to emitted CO ₂ than ripe or large fruits that have to be flown in by plane. This releases very large amounts of CO ₂ into the atmosphere. When purchasing, the transport method is recognizable by the price, for example, air freight is significantly more expensive than fruit transported by ship. ¹² Prefer organic guavas harvested early that travel shorter distances by ship. These are somewhat less harmful to the climate and can ripen during transport.

Worldwide distribution - cultivation

Strawberry guavas originally grew on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. Today they can be found in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide, eg Florida, Hawaii and South Africa.

Only a few varieties are commercially relevant and their fruit production is low. Production and distribution is limited to certain regions of Brazil, mainly in the south. Strawberry guavas are also grown outside of Brazil, mainly for home use or for the local market. International trade in the fruit is unknown so far.

Found in the wild

As early as the 16th century, the Spanish and Portuguese brought the guayabo trees ( Psidium guayava) from South America to the Philippines and the coasts of India. From there, the shrubs spread to almost all tropical countries. ² In some locations, the spread is now considered invasive because it leads to the displacement of the local vegetation. ⁷ This is not a modern phenomenon: in 1582, the then governor of Puerto Rico wrote in a letter to the Spanish King Philip II that Psidium posed a problem for cattle farmers because the wild guayabo trees ( Psidium guayava) were overgrowing the pastures. He referred to Psidium as "maldito guayabo" and demanded that the plants be banned from being grown. ²

The strawberry guava, like the real guava, was introduced to tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Wilding is particularly problematic on islands. In Hawaii, for example, feral pigs, which like to eat the fruit of the plant, spread the fruit's seeds in their droppings all over the island. The strawberry guava displaces native plants and thus endangers numerous endemic species. ⁴ However, wild strawberry guavas have long been a problem in other areas, such as Florida. ⁶

Possible confusion

The red guava or strawberry guava looks very similar to the Chilean guava ( Ugni molinae, syn. Myrtus ugni Mol., Eugenia ugni (Mol.). The so-called strawberry myrtle is native to Chile and southern Argentina and is only distantly related to the guavas. Both plants are myrtle plants. The fruits are much smaller than those of the strawberry guava and are bright red. Locally they are called Uñi, murta or murtilla. The English name is Chilean guava or strawberry myrtle. ⁸

Cultivation and harvest

Strawberry guavas can be cultivated outside of the tropics and subtropics as potted plants for terraces or balconies. They require a sunny to partially shaded location. As a substrate, they prefer nutrient-rich soil that is permeable to water. For optimal growth, it is important that they are watered regularly and fertilized during the growing season. In winter, the strawberry guava needs a mild winter quarters. An unheated, sunny stairwell or winter garden is ideal. The guava should not be kept in a dark room. ⁵

Strawberry guavas can be bought as young trees or grown from seeds. The latter need seven to eight years to bear fruit in optimal climates. ⁶

Further information

The strawberry guava Psidium cattleianum or Psidium cattleyanum in honor of the English plant collector and gardener William Cattley. Also known as Psidium littorale. It belongs to the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) and is closely related to the common guava ( Psidium guajava). Both belong to the guava genus ( Psidium).

There is also a variant with yellow fruits, the so-called lemon guava ( Psidium littorale var. littorale) or lemon guava. ⁶

Despite its similarity, the Brazilian guava (feijoa, pineapple guava) does not belong to the guava genus, but to the Acca genus. However, it is also a plant from the myrtle family.

Alternative names

Alternative names for the strawberry guava are cherry guava, red guava, coastal pomegranate or Cattley's pomegranate. The name Araçá is also sometimes used, but this is also used for the fruit of the Amazon guava ( Eugenia stipitata). Alternative spellings are strawberry guava, cherry guava and cherry guava.