If you got a jar of our famous guava jam from Boards N Beans or directly from us and now you want to give a shot at making your own, well here's the recipe. And since we're now including a packet of seeds with each jar, within a couple years you might be growing your own guavas and you won't need us anymore... well that's OK, just please stay in touch and let us know how things are going! And if you just want to keep getting our jam, that's fine too!
Carolee and Vince
Guava Jam Recipe:
Each batch in an 8 qt pot makes 18-24 x 8 oz. jars. Utensils you will need include:
- A mesh screen strainer with 1/16" mesh
- A good powerful blender
- 2 doz. 8 oz. canning jars
- A large pot to boil your jars
Ingredients per batch in 8 qt. pot (red Creuset for example):
- ~ 4 x Gallon bags of fruit
- 6 cups raw sugar/brown sugar mix (5 if the fruit is really sweet/ripe)
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon juice with a pinch of zest
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Start by briefly blending the fruit a blender and then straining out the seeds in a coarse wire mesh strainer.
Put all the sugar together in a large bowl with the correct amount of dry pectin according to the package and mix it thoroughly.
Fill the pot with all ingredients and cook on medium high heat until it starts to boil. Keep stirring and it should start to thicken. It should be ready in 30-40 minutes.
We used to cook it much slower on lower heat, but we found out that on higher heat that not only does it take less time, but it actually comes out better and doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan, which seems counterintuitive until you realize that when it's boiling it keeps moving in the pot and doesn't have time to stick to the pan. If only our grandmas were still around to have tought us this simple lesson!
When canning, make sure there is no jam around the rim of the jar. Put the lids on finger tight and boil the filled jars for 10 minutes, then let them cool and listen for the “ping”. If the button in the center of the lid isn’t down, it’s a bad seal and that jar should be consumed right away!
Seed Sprouting Tips:
We have never intentionally sprouted seeds, but we can tell you that if they find their way into our compost we soon have little trees everywhere! Here are few tips I found on the internet that may be helpful:
Different people on the web recommend
-
soaking the seed in water for 2 weeks before planting
-
sandwiching the seed inside a damp folded paper towel, sealing it in a plastic bag, and hanging it up in direct sunlight till they germinate.
-
putting the seed in boiling water for 5 minutes before planting to break the dormancy.
Whatever option you try, germination can take up to 8 weeks, and they need warmth to get them started. They are tropical plants after all.
From Gardening Knowhow dot com:
The first step to growing guava from seed is to break the seed dormancy. This is done in one of two ways. Either place the seeds in a pot of boiling water for five minutes or soak the seeds in water for two weeks prior to planting. Both of these allow the seed coat to soften and, thus, hasten germination.
Once the seeds have been soaked, fill a nursery pot with soilless seed starting mix. Press one seed into the center of the pot with your finger. Be sure to cover the seed with a bit of soilless mixture. Water the seeds with a misting spray and place the container in a warm place with temperatures around 65 degrees F. (18 C.) or above.
The seeds should germinate in two to eight weeks depending upon the temperature. In cooler climates, place the pot on a seed heating pad to help maintain a consistently warm temperature and speed up germination. Keep an eye on the seed pot and water when needed, when the top of the soil feels dry.
