So today I experimented with this fruit, and discovered that they are happy to be frozen until there are enough of them, or I've got time, to do something with them. There are quite a few recipes around for making a clear jelly with them, but phah, too much phaffing around for me at the moment.
So here's my first jam recipe. Quantities are small, I imagine the principle is the same however many berries you've got, and multiplying quantities will produce a similar result, although I'd be a bit cautious with the chilli powder. (As I was testing it for setness, I thought it was a bit bland, so zhooshed it up with a pinch of chilli powder. Was a good thought!)
CHERRY GUAVA JAM (#1)
450g cherry guava
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch chilli powder
Top and tail guava, cut roughly. This amount of fruit yielded 2 cups of pan-ready fruit.
Add water and bring to boil. Boil about 20 minutes, partially covered, then use a stick blender to smash up the fruit.
The seeds are impervious to the blender, so I used a sieve to transfer the pulp from one pot to another, minus the seeds. Press the pulp through with the back of a spoon. Discard seeds.
Add the sugar and lemon juice and boil rapidly uncovered for about 20 minutes or until setting point is reached. During this time, taste, and add chilli powder if you want to.
Pour into heated jars. This small test batch made almost two small jars.
