In season late autumn: Feijoas

The feijoa plant thrives in hot, dry weather so considering the summer we’ve had, the 2010 season – available until around early June – may very well produce a high quality crop.

Buying

Handle feijoas with care as the fruit bruises easily. Ripe feijoas are slightly soft with a clear flesh and are best eaten within two or three days.

Storing

Place fruit in the fridge or to ripen, keep at room temperature in a paper bag.

Freezing

Feijoas freeze well – scoop out flesh to fill a cup, then tip cup-moulded flesh onto plastic wrap and secure. Store in freezer and use when required for baking, juices and smoothies.

Nutrition

Feijoas contain good amounts of fibre and vitamin C and have been found to have high antioxidant activity. Proanthocyanins found in feijoas have been found to stop blood clotting and reduce inflammation and may have a role in blood pressure regulation.

Using feijoas

The tropical flavour of this fruit complements everything from yoghurts and ice cream to meat!

• To make salsa: mix feijoas with red onion, avocado, tomatoes coriander, lime juice and sweet chilli sauce.
• Feijoas are a great replacement for apple sauce or bananas when baking. Just add a little sugar to counter any tartness.
• Eat them just as they are, straight from the skin with a spoon. Look for pale-coloured, soft-textured centres.
• Top natural, vanilly low-fat yoghurt with a ripe feijoa for a quick and healthy snack.
• Add chopped feijoas to salads. Not only a taste sensation, the vitamin C will enhance your absorption of iron from cereals and plant foods in the meal.
• Use your favourite banana cake recipe to make banana and feijoa cake – or feijoa and ginger cake.
• Scoop out the centres and pack into plastic bags with a squeeze of lemon juice, and freeze for later baking.
• Add to apple for a delicious pie filling.
• Use in muffins with other fruit. They go very well with apple and almonds.
• Poach in a little sugar syrup with a knob of ginger.
• Spoon over cereal with yoghurt.
• Whip up a feijoa smoothie. Crush a ripe banana and process in a blender with 3 tablespoons of both honey and natural yoghurt, 3 ripe feijoa centres and 300ml trim milk.
• Feijoas are the perfect fruit salad ingredient. Just scoop out the centres and add to fruits such as bananas, peaches, melons and strawberries to give a salad a natural lift. Especially nice with pineapple.
• Make a feijoa crumble: top fruit with a mix of rolled oats, sliced almonds, brown sugar and coconut flakes. Or try our Feijoa crumble recipe.
• Purée in a blender with lemon juice, vanilla and a little sugar. Use in baking instead of half the sugar.
• For a healthy dessert with a twist, stew ripe feijoas and apples. Chop and peel 3 large apples and 6 ripe feijoa centres, 1/2 cup water, and add 2 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer gently until boiled, and continue to simmer until reduced and thickened. Serve with porridge or ice cream.