Guava Jelly

Guava Jam/Guava Jelly

My tree have been generous producing Guava fruits. I normally just eat it with a little bit of salt and sometimes I make guava smoothie or guava juice. The rest, I give it away to friends and neighbors.

Bountiful harvest every time.

A few days ago, I posted a photo of my guava tree on our Instagram account and many of our followers suggested Guava Jelly. So, I made a research on how to make it and many recipes online require pectin and some uses citric acid instead.
What is pectin? Pectin is as substance which, when heated together with sugar, causes a thickening that is a characteristic of jam and jellies. It naturally occurs in many fruits and berries. Pectin is used to make jams/jellies and marmalades.

But, upon reading about this fruit, it does contain a little amount of natural pectin. But lemons do and is very rich in pectin and acid. Lemons... which I have a tree as well.

My lemon tree!

A combination of these two fruits are perfect for a homemade Guava Jam/Jelly. The pectin present in fruit and lemon gives a nice texture to this jam.
Now, if you have guavas at home or someone gave you some, why not make some Guava Jam or Jelly. It is really really good. I promise, you will love it.
Oh, and speaking of Lemons, I suggest to try my Easy Lemon Cheesecake Bars and Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake recipes. Enjoy :)

Ripe Guavas are require in making this Jelly.

Video

Guava jam after cooking. Perfect texture!

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 pieces ripe guava
4 cups water
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 cups sugar
pinch of saffron

I transferred them to sterilized jars.

PROCEDURE:

Wash the guavas and slice into small pieces.
Boil for 15-20 minutes or until it becomes very soft.
Once they are soft, mash or whisk it.
Strain and continue to mash the cooked guavas to extract all the juice and pulp. This will also remove the seeds and the skin which we do not need. This will have about 4 cups of juice extracted.
Add lemon juice, sugar and saffron. Stir to combine.
Turn your stove on high heat and occasionally stir while bringing to a boil. Cook for 30-40 minutes.
Once it is boiling rapidly (with bubbles all over), it is important to stir continuously to avoid the jam from hardening.
Achieve a not too thick but not too runny consistency. Do not overcook.
Cool completely before transferring to clean or sterilized jars.
Recipe yields 2 (8 oz) jars and about 1/4 cup of extra jam which you can enjoy right away. Have your bread ready :)
Store the jars of Guava Jelly in the fridge!
See important notes below.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. Make sure the guavas are ripe and soft. They are easier to cook and will give a nice flavor and sweetness to the jam.
2. You can omit the saffron if it is not available but I suggest to include it because this spice adds taste to the jam.
3. Make sure to sterilize new bottles or jars. Newly purchased jars are not sterile. To sterilize, submerge the jars in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Lids can be sterilized by submerging in hot water before use.
4. You can double this recipe. Cooking time will be probably about 50-60 minutes.

*** Have you tried this recipe? If yes, would you mind leave a comment below and share your finished product? Thanks in advance.