a Glut of Guavas, a splash of rum

[mbrowley]

Since last week, the guava tree out back has gone from hundreds of little, hard green fruits to hundreds of highly perfumed, soft, pendulous and ripe yellow fruits. The branches threaten to snap under the weight, and I've already given away about fifteen pounds to buddies. That still leaves way too many to just leave to the possums, so I'm considering ways to enhooch the guavas with alcohol.

My initial thought was to crush them lightly in a big glass le Parfait preserving jar and baptise the mass with rum for punches around the holidays.

Anybody got other notions before I upend a bottle of Bacardi Anejo? I should add - the idea is not to preserve the guavas; it's to doctor alcohol for palatible mixings later on.

~ Matthew

[eje]

Matthew,

I got some exceptional guavas at the farmers' market a couple weeks ago and was thinking of doing something similar.

My concern with guavas, though, is that so much of their appeal lies in their scent.

I'm guessing you're going to have to add something else to that infusion to boost the actual flavor. Lime zest? Pineapple?

This is all speculation, though. Has anyone ever made an infusion or liqueur with guavas?

Erik

Since last week, the guava tree out back has gone from hundreds of little, hard green fruits to hundreds of highly perfumed, soft, pendulous and ripe yellow fruits. The branches threaten to snap under the weight, and I've already given away about fifteen pounds to buddies. That still leaves way too many to just leave to the possums, so I'm considering ways to enhooch the guavas with alcohol.

My initial thought was to crush them lightly in a big glass le Parfait preserving jar and baptise the mass with rum for punches around the holidays.

Anybody got other notions before I upend a bottle of Bacardi Anejo? I should add - the idea is not to preserve the guavas; it's to doctor alcohol for palatible mixings later on.

~ Matthew

←

[mbrowley]

Matthew,

I got some exceptional guavas at the farmers' market a couple weeks ago and was thinking of doing something similar.

My concern with guavas, though, is that so much of their appeal lies in their scent.

I'm guessing you're going to have to add something else to that infusion to boost the actual flavor.  Lime zest?  Pineapple?

This is all speculation, though.  Has anyone ever made an infusion or liqueur with guavas?

Erik

←

Erik ~

I came across this tantalizing Cuban discussion: http://www.cuba-junky.com/pinar-del-rio/guayabita.htm

Not quite the same fruit, but the aging in oak barrels suggests that some toasted oak chips might not be an unwelcome addition if using white rum. The piece reads likes it has been auto-translated from Spanish, so the "honey" mentioned is, I reckon, not actual honey, but a sugary "miel" (e.g. a thin, sugar-based syrup or wash that is then fermented and distilled).

A maceration in rum, a temperate addition of water, then a second distillation might also yield some tasty results.

[eje]

Angostura Recipes

Hey, a guava liqueur is the first one on this page from the Angostura website.

They also have some other interesting recipes further down the page including a Sorrel (hibiscus) liqueur.

[eje]

[...]

A maceration in rum, a temperate addition of water, then a second distillation might also yield some tasty results.

←

Second distillation! My, you are hardcore.

;-)

But, yeah, distillation is often the best way to capture fragrance.

[Kent Wang]

I am adding enhooch to my vocabulary.

[mbrowley]

I am adding enhooch to my vocabulary.

←

If enchiladas are slathered in chiles and empanadas are fillings swaddled in bread, surely many of us have delighted in, or suffered through, occasional enhoochment, yeah?

[KatieLoeb]

I am adding enhooch to my vocabulary.

←

Me too!

Don't forget you can enjoy some of those fruits enhooched now rather than later. I'm seeing all kinds of guava caipirinhas, guava margaritas and guava mojitos dancing in my head...

And please report back on the enhoochment. I'm sure we all want to know how it turned out.

[mbrowley]

Second distillation!  My, you are hardcore.

←

Spent too much time with extralegal distillers not to have picked up a few tricks.

~ Matthew

[sadistick]

To ensure you get JUST the flavour of Guava (BTW, where do you live that you have a tree?! So jealous!) I would cut them up pretty fine, and soak in a decent quality vodka for a month or so, maybe some simple syrup added.

[mbrowley]

To ensure you get JUST the flavour of Guava (BTW, where do you live that you have a tree?!  So jealous!) I would cut them up pretty fine, and soak in a decent quality vodka for a month or so, maybe some simple syrup added.

←

I may well go that route; a control group with vodka and a test with aged rum.

As for a decent quality vodka - I've become a fan of the "personal liquor filter" sold by the boys at http://graykangaroo.com - They sell a pour-through filter that uses activated carbon to polish less-than-decent vodkas. In Philadelphia while researching my moonshine book, I interviewed the boys who invented it. It's absolutely no good for whiskeys, gin, or brandies, but for taking the second-cheapest vodka out there and filtering out a lot of the nastiness to make a smooth drink? A handy little device. It's especially useful for making vodka-based cordials, liqueurs, etc. a lot cheaper.

Oh - I'm in San Diego, about twenty miles from the Mexican border. In addition to guavas, we have rosemary bushes the size of a VW bug, figs, rampant mint, roses (for rosewater and, later, rosehip jam), and then a farmer's market a few blocks away fill all the seasonal produce you'd want for stocking your bar with syrups and cordials.

Matthew