Feijoas

The Feijoa trees are absolutely pumping right now and I’m making the most of them!

These delicious autumn fruits have skins covered in natural yeasts, which means you can brew with them without adding any commercial yeast.

Find my fermented Feijoa fizz recipe on my website here:

As well as giving excess feijoas to friends, scooping some into ziplock bags for the freezer, dehydrating slices, making muffins & crumble, I’m also loving spicy Feijoa Kasundi using the recipe from Nicola Galloway at Homegrown Kitchen.

A few years back I stumbled across this fascinating article about feijoas:

written by Kate Evan’s

In short, Feijoa’s (Acca Sellowiana) aka pineapple guava, are small trees in the myrtle family, related to guava. They originate from the highlands of Brazil, the north of Uruguay, and some parts of Argentina & maybe Paraguay.

Kate recounts visiting “an archaeological site where the remains of thousand-year-old pit houses were surrounded by araucarias, feijoas and other related fruiting trees. Archaeologists believe the people who lived there, the Southern Jê, were probably the first humans to eat feijoas, some time after people arrived in the area about 4500 years ago.” She also visited a nearby community of Afro-Brazilians, descendants of freed slaves “who for five generations have used a tea made of feijoa leaves to treat a wide range of ailments.”

It’s a little unclear who exactly introduced feijoa’s to New Zealand, needless to say, they were a hit here. Hardy, resilient, easy to grow trees which can withstand the NZ conditions. Producing an abundant seasonal crop, with a flavor that most Kiwi’s adore.

Feijoa’s are a great source of Vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber. Scientific studies have shown that feijoas have Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Antioxidant properties, as well as Anticancer properties. They’re rich in Potassium, high in Folate and can support bowel health & control blood sugar levels.