Guava Jam

Guava

Guava Jam (probably the best jam ever)

It’s seasonal produce week so here I am with something that is in season, right in my garden, right now.

We have three prolific guava trees growing in our garden. The majority of the fruit is feeding the bats, which I am so happy about as the bats had a tough time through the drought and fires. We love that we can share the fruit with them. Yesterday we picked 10 lovely ripe guavas that the bats hadn’t touched and we made the best jam I think I have ever tasted.

Guava jam is a labour of love. Those who know this fruit well will know guavas are absolutely delicious but they have some pretty hard seeds in them that all need to be removed before eating. In the past I haven’t bothered and ended up with a belly ache.

To remove the seeds takes time but I tell you the jam is well worth it.

If you have any guavas ripening up where you live right now this recipe is worth a try or save it for when guavas are in season where you live.

Guava is not just a lovely tasting fruit it boasts some pretty fabulous health benefits. It helps to regulate blood sugar levels so is great for people with diabetes. It is also great for heart health and skin health. Its lycopene content can reduce the risk of prostate cancer and breast cancer. It is a good source of vitamin B3 and B6 which is great for brain function. It contains potassium, copper, manganese and plenty of vitamin C. It is an all round really healthy fruit to eat.

And its not just the fruit either that is great for our health. The leaves also are great to chew on for bad breath and gum disease and are fabulous made into a tea for respiratory or cold symptoms. A warning though if you are sharing the tree with the bats like we are be sure to wash the leaves thoroughly and let them sun dry before chewing on them or putting them in tea – as you don’t want to get any nasty’s from the bats (blastocystis). I drank the leaves as tea before the fruit had ripened, as the bats hadn’t discovered the plant yet.

Guava Jam

Ingredients

10 medium guavas cut up small

½ cup filtered water

1 cup sugar (if you want a pink jam then use organic raw or white sugar. I don’t have any of those sugars so I used coconut sugar. Rapadura sugar would work well too

Juice of ½ lime

Method

Place the guavas and water in a saucepan and put the lid on. Bring to the boil and then let simmer until the guavas are all mashed up. Check from time to time and give a stir so they don’t stick to the bottom.
Place the mashed guava in a sieve and with a spoon press out any of the fruit and liquid. When the mixture is cool you can scrape off the flesh from the skin and add some of the skin to the liquid that is coming through the sieve. You want to separate the seeds from the fruit and liquid mixture.
Put the liquid mixture and the skins back in the saucepan with the sugar and let simmer for 1 hour or until the jam has thickened.
Add the lime juice and decant the hot jam into fully sterilised jars.

# If you make this recipe please share on facebook or instagram to #veetsvegancookingschool

The School is Opening Up Again

Very excited to announce that the school is opening up again and there will be four opportunities to attend the Three Day Vegan Foundation Cooking Course in 2020. The full Vegan Chef Training and all the modules that you can attend after doing the Vegan Foundation Course will begin again in April through to June 2021.

I have now got the dates together and they are listed below.

Be quick to book into a Vegan Foundation Course this year as they will fill fast and there are only so few of these courses this year.

Three Day Vegan Foundation Cooking Course

2020

27th to 29th August – waiting list only

24th to 26th September – 4 places left

29th to 31st October

3rd to 5th December

2021

28th to 30th January

18th to 20th February

4th to 6th March

25th to 28th March

8th to 10th April

Module 2 to 9

Module 2 Raw Foods and Food Photography, 19th to 22nd April

Module 3 Ayurveda, 27th to 29th April

Module 4 Macrobiotics, Wholefoods and Italian Cooking, 3rd to 5th May

Module 5 Fermentation and Sour dough, 6th to 7th May

Module 6 Dietary requirements and EAB 1, 11th to 14th of May

Module 7 Menu Planning and EAB 2, 17th to 21st May

Module 8 Advanced Skills and EAB 3, 24th to 29th May

Module 9, 1st to 3rd June and 8th to 12th June

To enrol in either course, please download our application forms
• 3 Day Foundation Course Application Form
• Full Vegan Chef Training Application Form

Organic Meal Service

For those of you who live locally I will be continuing with the weekly organic meal service for at least the next three months. If you would like a menu please email.

Have a great week everyone

With gratitude Veet