Guavas cooked with panela and cinnamon, blended, strained and reduced until it sets. It makes about one jar and keeps for weeks.
The sieve is not optional
Guavas are full of small hard seeds, and they do not soften. Boil them for an hour and they will still be there, which is why the pulp gets pushed through a sieve after blending.
Expect it to take a few minutes and use the back of a spoon. What stays behind in the sieve is seeds and fibre; what comes through is the jam.
Guava sets by itself
There is no pectin in this recipe and none is needed. Guava is one of the highest-pectin fruits there is, which is why guava paste can be cut into blocks and why this jam thickens with nothing but time on the heat.
It is also why guava was traditionally the fruit turned into bocadillo, the solid block sold wrapped in dried leaves.
How to know it is ready
Put a saucer in the freezer before you start. When the jam looks close, drop a little onto the cold saucer, wait thirty seconds, and push it with a finger.
If the surface wrinkles, it is set. If it floods back into the gap, give it longer. This is the standard jam test and it is far more reliable than watching the pot, because jam thickens a great deal as it cools and always looks too loose while hot.
Panela or sugar
Both work and they give different jams. Panela is unrefined cane sugar and brings a darker colour and a faint smokiness that goes well with the cinnamon. White sugar gives a brighter, cleaner result where the guava is more obvious.
Neither is more correct, and in Colombia panela is simply what is in the house.
More guava
- Bocadillo — the solid block, same fruit.
- Guava juice — where the rest of them go.
- Dedos de queso — with a sliver of bocadillo inside.
- Chicharrón de guayaba — the sweet one.
Guava Jam FAQ
Yes. Guava seeds are hard and numerous and they do not soften with cooking. Push the blended pulp through a sieve with the back of a spoon; it takes a few minutes and it is the difference between jam and something gritty.
No. Guava is one of the highest-pectin fruits there is, which is why guava paste sets solid enough to slice. This jam thickens with nothing but heat and time.
Put a saucer in the freezer at the start. Drop a little jam on it, wait thirty seconds and push it with a finger: if the surface wrinkles it is set. Jam always looks too loose while hot, so this test is more reliable than judging the pot.
Panela gives a darker jam with a faint smokiness that suits the cinnamon; white sugar gives a brighter one where the guava is more prominent. Both work, and panela is simply what most Colombian kitchens have.
About 400 ml, roughly one jar, from six guavas. Refrigerated in a sealed jar it keeps several weeks. The recipe card previously said one serving, which was misleading.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ripe guavas (the riper the better; they set more easily)
- ½ cup panela or sugar (panela gives a darker jam with more flavour)
- 2 cups water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (off the heat at the end, so the aroma does not boil away)
Notas
Instructions
- Wash the guavas well, trim the ends and cut them into small cubes. Put them in a pot with the water and the cinnamon sticks and cook until soft.
- Take the pot off the heat and let it cool.
- Drain the cooking water, keeping a little back, and use it to blend the guavas.
- Strain the blended pulp through a sieve to get rid of the seeds.
- Return the strained pulp to the pot with the panela or sugar and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly so it does not catch.
- Once it thickens, take it off the heat, stir in the vanilla and let it cool to room temperature before jarring it.
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