Feijoa

Friends stop by with the most unusual surprises! From the same Point Reyes garden the lemon cucumbers came from, some unusual feijoa (pineapple guava) came my way. Feijoa is a small evergreen shrub originating from the highlands of southern Brazil, parts of Colombia, Uruguay and northern Argentina. They look like cucumbers to me, but they taste very sweet and fruity!

The friend who brought them, Glen, said that you don't have to peel these, just wash and slice. He said they are good for jam and pancake toppings too.

I highlighted the feijoa in a fresh green salad with strawberries. My dinner guest last night, Daniel, exclaimed "These are cucumbers?!" probably not knowing whether to trust his eyes or his taste buds.

And this post just begs to be entered into Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Scott of The Real Epicurean this week.

Now some of the information I've been reading on the web says that the fruit is typically eaten by scooping out the sweet interior, and that the skin is rather bitter. I didn't notice any bitterness in this recipe, perhaps because it was with other greens and strawberries.

It also appears pretty healthy with a one-cup serving of puree having 119 calories, with daily values being 104% of fiber, 82% of vitamin C, and 23% of folate to name a few.