Guava: The Heart of the Matter

Guava in Marash Girl's Kitchen. Photo Credit: Marash Girl

Marash Girl had never seen guava before; sure, she had drunk its wonderful nectar (heavily sweetened by Goya), but there her knowledge of guava ended.  Until one day, she saw some odd looking green vegetables/fruits at the greengrocer's (no identification visible) and decided to purchase them.  Setting them aside on the kitchen table to wonder about, she promptly forgot about them until later that afternoon, when Irene, once Peter's caregiver, now a close family member, arrived for a visit.  (Actually the visit occurred on the day the tornado hit Wilbraham, June 1, but luckily Irene and Marash Girl and the guava were NOT in Wilbraham!) 

Marash Girl invited Irene (who, by the way, is from Uganda,) into the kitchen for a late afternoon snack.  Immediately  after we settled in, Irene eyed the unidentified green fruit on the kitchen table and exclaimed, "Where did you get these?" 

"What are they?" Marash Girl queried.  

"They're guava, and when I see them, they bring back my childhood in Uganda!  You know the way Peter stole apples (see Marash Girl's post on Boursalu Mari), we stole guava and mangos.  I haven't seen one since I've been in this country!  Cut in half, if you're lucky, the seeds form a heart."  

(The one we cut in half that day DID form a heart, but the recently purchased guava pictured here were heartless; they must have known that Marash Girl needed the photo for this blog!)

"We eat the guava, seeds and all - no peeling.  They're slightly tart as if lime has been squeezed over them, and crisp like an apple.  And I love them!"