Goiabada
Goiabada is a popular dessert throughout the Portuguese-speaking countries of the world, dating back to the colonial days in Brazil, where guavas were used as a substitute for the quinces used to make marmelada (quince cheese). An abundance of sugar and slave labour were crucial for its confection, in large cauldrons cooking over a slow fire. It is a conserve made of guava and sugar. It is still commonly made at home for family use or by home industry outlets (traditional recipes) or as processed food. It is known as guava paste or guava cheese throughout the English-speaking Americas, especially the Caribbean and pasta de guayaba or guayabate in Spanish-speaking Americas. It is commercially available, most often packaged in flat, metal cans. It is called Perad in Goa, an old Portuguese colony. In Brazil, goiabada is usually eaten with Minas cheese. This combination is referred to as "Romeo and Juliet." It is particularly popular spread on toast at breakfast, or served hot with cheese inside an empada pastry, as a kind of miniature pie. In Portugal, it is used as the filling of the popular bolo de rosas (rose cake) in which a layer of pastry is covered with goiabada, then rolled and cut into pieces that resemble roses. This same cake is called rocambole in Brazil, and also uses a layer of pastry covered with goiabada, then rolled and served, as a Swiss roll. Another popular dessert is the bolo de rolo. The many different kinds of goiabada depend on the type of guava, and with slightly different textures and flavors. In Brazil, the most widely accepted to be the best (for "Romeo and Juliet") is called goiabada cascão (with fragments of guava in the paste)
Information source Net....
Goiabada is made from ripe Guavas, peeled and cut into pieces; blended onto smooth pulp, strained and cooked with sugar; adding some of the peels into the pulp back. Set for 4 hours and then eaten.
This is my version; I made it from remaining pulp while making Guava jelly... and followed the same process.
The actual recipe of Goiabada
Ingredients
12 ripe Guavas
3 cups Sugar
1 1/2 cups Water
Method
Wash and peel the guava fruits, reserving the peels.Cut the guavas into pieces place in a blender at medium speed until it reaches a smooth and even consistency.
Pass it through a sieve and set aside. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook over high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring and let it boil for 3-4 minutes.
Add the puree and a quarter of the reserved peel. Stir until the mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when stirring. Remove from the heat.
Add the guava paste to a serving dish and let cool in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Once cooled, unmold from the serving dish and slice into pieces to serve.
My version of Goiabada
Ingredients
15 ripe red Guavas
3 cups Sugar
1 1/2 cups Water
1 tbsp Lime juice
Pinch of Salt
Method
Cut the guavas into pieces. Take a pot, add the guavas and water just above the level of the guavas. Boil the guavas till it is cooked. Cool the guavas and blend it in a blender into a smooth pulp. Strain the pulp and throw away the remaining left on the strainer.. it will be the seeds of the guavas. Strain it again. Take the pulp left in the strainer and keep it in a pot. Keep staining 2 times more, add little water at the time of straining, the liquid will collect in a vessel and collect the pulp remaining in the strainer in a pot. The liquid which is collected will be used to make guava jelly and the pulp will be used to make Goiabada. Take a pot; add sugar. Boil the sugar till it dissolves. Add the pulp to the boiled sugar syrup. Cook the pulp on a low flame stirring occasionally. Add salt and lime juice when half done. Stir until the mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when stirring. Remove from the heat. Stir until the mixture thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when stirring. Add the guava paste to a serving dish and let cool in the refrigerator till it sets. Once cooled, unmold from the serving dish and slice into pieces to serve.
