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Other Desserts
Guavas may be used with all of the foundation formulas given in Introductory Recipes and will be found very delicious with gelatine and other delicate concoctions as well as in tarts, etc. For all ices the guava is particularly satisfactory. For these the syrup may be used as well as the preserved forms put through a sieve so that they may be had out of season as well as when the fresh, crushed fruit is at hand.
GUAVA JELLY No. I A good general rule in guava-jelly (more than with almost any other fruit) is to avoid that which is "dead ripe." Never use the entire quantity of mature guavas. To make in small quantities is best and an excellent plan is to save the parings and seed centres for a day or two from fruit used for sauce or desserts. For Jelly No. I use half the quantity of ripe guavas and half those which are well filled out but not quite turned in colour: not thoroughly mature. If the whole fruit is used slice it, cover bottom of preserving kettle with cold water, and simmer till soft. Strain through jelly-bag (never squeeze); boil the juice rapidly twenty minutes with or without the juice of half
A jelly built on pectin from underripe fruit, plus notes on using guava in the book's other "foundation formulas." The pectin point is the one that decides whether the jelly sets.
- Why not "dead ripe"Pectin and acid both fall off sharply as guava softens and turns yellow. The half-and-half mix of ripe and just-filled-out green fruit is doing the work of commercial pectin, so resist the temptation to use only fragrant ripe fruit.
- Parings and seed centresThe skin and the seedy core carry the most pectin, which is why saving trimmings from other guava dishes gives such a strong jelly. Keep them covered and refrigerated, and use within the day or two the recipe allows.
- Never squeeze the bagForcing the pulp through clouds the jelly with fine solids that no amount of later skimming removes. Hang the bag and let it drip; a clear first run is worth more than the extra half cup you would wring out.
- Jelly-bag substitutesA double layer of damp cheesecloth in a colander, or an unbleached muslin bag hung from a cupboard handle over a bowl, both work. Wet and wring the cloth first so it does not absorb juice.
- Sugar proportionThe proportion is not stated in the text as it stands. Equal measures of juice and sugar is a common jelly proportion for a strong juice, but treat that as a starting point rather than a figure from this book.
- Judging the setTwenty minutes of hard boiling is a guide, not a rule; kettle width and juice strength change it. Go by the sheeting test off a cold spoon, or 220F on a thermometer at sea level.
- StorageOnce made, refrigerate and use within a few weeks. If you want shelf-stable jars, follow a current tested canning procedure for headspace and processing time, since none is given here.
- The other usesFor the ices and gelatine desserts mentioned at the head of the entry, sieved guava preserve or guava syrup thinned with water gives a smoother result than fresh crushed fruit, whose hard seed grit is difficult to remove entirely.
- Fruit to buyPink or white tropical guava (Psidium guajava) is meant, not feijoa or strawberry guava. Frozen guava pulp is widely sold but is generally made from fully ripe fruit and may not set reliably without added pectin or underripe fruit.
Guava jelly was a well-known product of Caribbean kitchens, and it is often said to have been a familiar item in American markets by the time this book was compiled, often eaten as a partner to cream cheese and to cold meats. The fruit's high pectin content, concentrated in skin and seed core, made it useful to household manuals in an era when boxed pectin was not necessarily to hand: a cook could get a firm set from juice and sugar alone, provided the fruit was picked short of full ripeness. The advice to save parings and seed centres from other dishes reflects the same thrift that governed apple-paring jelly and quince cores, where the trimmings were understood to be the setting agent rather than waste. Its place in a chapter of "other desserts" may suggest guava being treated less as an exotic novelty than as one more fruit expected to slot into the book's standard formulas for ices, tarts and gelatine moulds, though that is a reading rather than a documented fact.