Guava Cheese – Christmas Sweet
Guava cheese is like a fudge made with fresh guava and sugar. Also, know as ‘Perad’ in Konkani. Fresh guava is very high in pectin which works wonderfully to make guava fudge, jams, and jellies naturally. Because it becomes firmer than jelly it is often referred to as cheese rather than fudge or jelly.
The preparation for making guava cheese or fudge requires that you boil the guavas, stew them then extract the pulp before you start the process of cooking it with sugar. This is a very important step so do not skip this.
When making Christmas sweets with high amounts of sugar it is best to use important to use a wide, heavy-bottom pan to prevent sticking and a long flat wooden spatula or spoon because there usually is lots of bubbling and splattering.
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Indian Guava Cheese – Guava Fudge
Print Pin RateEquipment /Tools
- Heavy Bottom Wide Saucepan
- Wooden spatula
- Baking Tray 9 x 9
- Sheet Pan
Ingredients
- 10 ripe Guavas
- 4 cups Sugar
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 drops Red food coloring
Instructions
Prepare Guava Pulp (can be done a day ahead)
- Clean and wash the guavas. Cut them in half
- Place them in a large saucepan and add water just enough to submerge them all.
- Stew them in water for about 10 minutes until fork-tender. Alternatively, you can pressure cook these for 2 to 3 whistles until soft.
- Let it cool until just warm.
- Hold each guava half in your hand and scrape some of the rough skin. Use a small spoon to remove the seed
- Strain the seed through a metal strainer using a spoon to push down. The seed is where all the pectin is, so do not skip this step
- Pulse the guava pulp in a food processor or mixer until smooth – set aside. You can make this up to 2 days ahead and keep in the fridge.
- You should have at least 4 cups of the guava mixture for this recipe (if not reduce sugar in the recipe – you need a 1:1 ratio of guava to sugar)
- Grease/butter a 9 x 9 square pan or sheet pan – set aside for later
Cook the guava cheese
- In a heavy wide heavy bottom pan, measure out 4 cups of the guava pulp
- Add the lemon juice, salt, and sugar
- Cook on medium heat stirring often but not continuously.
- It's best to use a wooden flat spatula or spoon with a long handle when stirring this it bubbles and splatters a LOT especially towards the end
- Continue to cook on medium heat until the mixture reduces to less than half
- Then reduce to heat to medium-low and now stir continuously to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom.
- As the mixture thickens it will start to leave the sides of the pan.
- Now add the color and the butter – continue to stir. The butter adds a nice shine to the mixture
Test for doneness
- Take a small bowl of cold water
- Drop half a teaspoon of the mixture in the cold water
- This mixture should become a softball in the water when you touch it.
- If not, continue to stir and cook until you reach a softball stage (235 F if using a candy thermometer)
Take it guava cheese out
- Pour the mixture in the prepared/greased baking pan. Spread the mixture with a spatula so it's even – you want at least 1 cm thickness, no less.
- Allow the guava cheese to cool completely at room temperature until set. This can take 4 to 6 hours (or overnight) depending on the humidity where you live.
- When ready to cut – flip the pan over a clean kitchen counter – It should easily come out
- Grease the blade of your knife with butter and cut into slices or desired shapes. The butter prevents it from sticking
- Guava cheese during Christmas is cut into diagonals, squares or rectangles.
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Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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