Whether the guavas are courtesy of your mother’s Pink Guava tree or the local market, I make this Easy Homemade Guava Jam on a weekly basis during the season. If you’re looking for guava recipes, jam is a great place to start. Stir it into yogurt, spread it on toast or top a piece of poundcake with this easy jam recipe.
I know it’s practically December and this may seem like it’s completely out of left field, but, believe it or not — it’s guava season. My Mom’s tree is loaded with them and she’s in a war with the iguanas to snatch them off of the branches before they get to them. Thing is, guava ripens one fruit at a time, and you’ve got to stay on top of it to get any yield — and those damn iguanas apparently like them just as much as we do! Luckily, I’ve found another guava source so I can make this Easy Homemade Guava Jam.
These particular aromatic orbs came from our farmer’s market, not my Mom’s tree — and they were a bargain at $5 for a basket of 5. Mom made some fabulous jam last year with her harvest and we zipped through the jar she gifted us in no time. When I saw these beauties in the market stall, I knew precisely what to do with them.
If you’ve never worked with guava before, you should know they’re full of seeds that are as hard as concrete. You could literally break a crown on one — and since dental work is prohibitively expensive, I recommend dispatching the seeds. This can be accomplished by painstakingly picking them out of the fruit (good luck with that) or quickly zipping the fruit in the blender on low speed to break apart the pulp and loosen the seeds, then pressing the fruit through a mesh strainer. This takes a little time and effort, but you’ll be rewarded with a gorgeous fruit puree.
Then it’s just a few quick steps to your own fresh jam. A little sugar, pectin and heat are all it takes to make this heavenly, perfumed confiture. Because I only had 5 guavas, I didn’t bother with the traditional canning methods — this made just enough for a jar for my Mom and for us. But now that I know how easy it is, I’ll be on the lookout for more fruit — and maybe guava jam will wind up in everyones stocking this Christmas… (but keep it a secret, ok?)
Last year, with my Mom’s jam – I made the most amazing grilled cheese ever — I even instagrammed the photo. I think I’ll have to make it again soon. You’re not going to get this intense flavor and color from store-bought guava jam — and the tangy tartness with its tropical sweet notes is eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head-good! So despite the fact that we’re in full holiday baking mode — you need to make this a priority. Like, now!!!
Want more guava recipes? How about these — guava puree, guava cheesecake and guava pastries?
Easy Homemade Guava Jam
Tart, tangy, sweet and lush - this Fresh Guava Jam will ruin you for any store-bought variety.
Ingredients
- 5-6 guavas ripe and fragrant
- 2-3 limes juiced
- 1 cup sugar USE HALF THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR COMPARED TO HOW MUCH GUAVA PUREE YOU HAVE
- pectin
Instructions
- Slice the guavas in half crosswise and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and seeds. Transfer the guava to a bowl and use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash the flesh, then transfer to a blender. Add the juice of two limes. Turn the blender on low speed to break up the flesh without pulverizing the seeds, about 20-30 seconds. Set a sieve (not a fine mesh sieve) over a 2 or 4 cup glass measuring cup and pour the guava pulp into the sieve. Use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula and stir and press the flesh and seeds against the side of the sieve, so that the fruit passes through, but the seeds remain in the sieve. Work on this for about 5 to ten minutes in order to process all the puree.
- Confirm the amount of guava puree that you have by checking the measuring glass. Do this because you'll need half the amount of sugar than you have of the fruit. So if you have 2 cups of puree, you'll use 1 cup of sugar. Transfer the puree to a non-reactive pan. Add the sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of pectin for every cup of fruit you have. 2 cups fruit = 2 tablespoons pectin.
- Heat over medium high heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Stir one minute and remove from heat. Transfer to a storage jar. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate. Spread on toast, serve with a spread of cream cheese on crackers or swirl into yogurt
Recipe Notes
This is a fresh jam -- it will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
More Fruity Bliss:
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- Curried Apple Walnut Chutney
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- Red Berry Chia Jam
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- Mcintosh Applesauce
“Pin It” For Later!
It came out a bit gritty, is there a way to prevent that? I strained it really well but it still had that texture.
The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the guava wasn’t ripe enough or should be cooked a little longer. Ripe guavas SMELL — as in, no mistaking that smell – Don’t store them in the fridge until they’ve ripened and only use ripe guava for the jam.
If it’s an “undercooked thing” next time, try this: taste a piece of fruit after you’ve cooked it and see if it’s melty soft or if it still has any firmness. I imagine that if it’s not cooked through, it could lend a grittiness.
Do you think I could use swerve granular sugar replacement instead of sugar?
I’ve never personally used Swerve, but after reading the FAQs on their website, it seems that it can recrystallize when exposed to cold (i.e. refrigeration), therefore, you might experience a grittiness if you swapped it out for sugar.
OMG its so pretty. I have so many guavas in my fruit orchard, but have never tried them in jam.
Maybe after work today…
sorry… is that 12-16 ounces of finished jam or just of the puree? how many ounces of the puree did the 5-6 ripe guavas yield if you remember?
Finished jam.
thank you!
how many ounces does this yield?
It depends on the size of your fruit, but generally it will yield between 12-16 ounces.
What if you are using liquid pectin. Cant find any powered ones here in The Bahamas (but I can find guavas easily on trees here)
I’ve never worked with liquid pectin before, but my understanding is that you add the petting AFTER cooking the fruit. Hope that helps!
Just checking – you mean five pounds of guava for $5, right? 🙂 Not five single guava fruits at a dollar apiece!
No. I mean literally 5 guavas for $5. It might have been a pound of fruit. Thankfully, my Mom’s tree spits copious amounts now – so I don’t BUY guava anymore… LOL!
I made it twice and it is not this color. Why us that? Should I add something else?
It depends on what color your guavas are — there are multiple varieties of guava – including yellow… How does it taste?
can you do this without the pectin and just relying on the natural fruit pectin of guava since its high in pectin i was wondering if this guava can form without the pectin powder.
Yes, it can. Actually, that’s how my Mom made hers the first time, however, it’s looser without the pectin.
As it is having no preservative, can anyone tell me what is the age of this jam. how long it can sustain with our without refrigerator.
Thank you
Yes, this is a fresh jam and it keeps in my refrigerator for up to 10 days. Use a traditional canning method if you’d like to keep it for longer.
Follow directions and jam did not jell. What happened?
My first thought is that you did nothing wrong. This isn’t a super-thick jam like you’d get from the store. It’s looser. You may want to add another teaspoon or two more pectin to thicken it more. It will set up a bit in the refrigerator. But here’s a trick: After you’ve cooked the jam, dab a bit on a plate and stick it in the freezer for a minute or so. Push it with your finger and if it wrinkles, it’s probably to the consistency that you’d like. Other natural thickeners: chia seeds… A tablespoon or so of chia helps to thicken, but again, not to a solid consistency.
Just made this after collecting dozens of mountain guava or common guava here in Hawaii. It’s a road side weed here and no iguanas!!
Turned out well and was easy. Nice to use less sugar.
Glad you liked it Steve! — I’ve never heard of mountain guava before — I can’t believe it’s a roadside weed! Amazing. No iguanas — you’re lucky!
To Issa, you don’t need added pectin, as guava already has it, but for insurance, if you like, you can add some fresh lemon seeds in a removable sachet. Lemon seeds are loaded with natural pectin.
Is there an alternative for pectin, we dont have in the Philippines
Actually, Issa, my mother made this jam WITHOUT pectin and it was just a little looser than the one with the pectin. So, if you don’t mind it being slightly runny – the flavor is there. Another option – is to cook the fruit a little longer, which should evaporate more of the juices, making it thicker.
I love guava! In Miami, we concentrate it to make guayaba paste and put it in flaky pastry. It’s so good! Great recipe, Lisa.
Yes, I love those little guava pastries — they sell them at our farmers market every Saturday and we often succumb to their siren call.
Guava is such a lovely fruit, with an amazing colour too. Buying them here in the UK can be tricky, must be so nice to grow your own; if you can deal with the iguanas.
The iguanas are the real problem…
What a pretty colour this is. I have to admit I’ve never tried Guava before, I wish it was easier to come by. This sounds like such a great recipe!
Yes, it’s a lovely pinkish color – but the fragrance really grabs you! Sweet, perfum-y and tropical!
What a pity that I can’t get ripe guava in my country. I would love to try this amazing jam!
My husband is a huge fan of guava paste so he would love it if I made this for him. I love the color
I like your idea about the grilled cheese!! Sounds fantastic. Where do I order!?!??
It’s one of those eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head flavors!
Looks yummy! Yup now I’m going to have to make this for myself. 😀
Let me know how you like it, Kat!
That looks so yummy!!!! Now i’m one step closer to making guava pastries!
I’ve never tried guava pastries with jam — I thought you used guava paste for that? If you’ve got a recipe, let me know!
Wow – thanks for the guava lesson! I’ve never had a fresh guava before. I’m not sure where you’re located, but it’s clearly a different climate than us if you’re dealing with lizards! I will have to keep my eyes out for one at a speciality market – thanks for the heads up on the seeds! Do you not worry about them damaging the blender?
I’m in South Florida – and lizards run the roost in these parts. As far as the blender goes – I use it on it’s lowest setting and just pulse for a few seconds — just enough to break up the flesh – it doesn’t damage my blender (a VitaMix).
I was just thinking how good this would be with the post after this one… Where does one find guavas? That jam looks sooooo good.
I found them at our Farmer’s Market – but I live in South Florida. I’m sure you can get them online or at a well-stocked grocer.
Oh, how I wish it was Guava season up here in New England! Regardless, this looks absolutely delicious!!
Thanks, Sarah! Glad you like it!
OMG!! I just posted a jam bar recipe using guava jam!! I love guava and I miss them here in US.
I will have to check out your jam bar, then!