Fruit in a jar - guava jelly

The market is flooded with oranges, kinnow (mandarin oranges) and guavas, both winter fruits. Guavas are available in the monsoon season too, but they are sweeter at this time of the year.

Allahabad, a town in UP is known for its guavas. The ones from there are often pinkish in color and are touted as being as sweet as mishri (sugar candy).

The slightly harder ones are a favorite with us and with some kala namak (black salt) sprinkled on them they are great fun to eat. I had some guavas at home which had become too soft to be eaten so a good option was making guava jelly. I am not a big fan of jellies as unlike jams the whole fruit does not end up being used,  though jellies with their pellucidity do look incredible and the flavor of the fruit does come through beautifully.

So here's my guava jelly recipe and it’s turned out wonderful! There is a strong taste of guavas and the dark rusty hue of the jelly is very appealing. It tasted fabulous drizzled over breakfast pancakes. All in all, it was great making it and the end product surpassed my expectations.

Guava jelly

2 kg guavas (ripe)

Sugar- 3/4 cup per cup of guava juice

Juice of 2 lemons

Wash and cut the fruit into small pieces. Place in a large pan with enough water so that the guavas are well covered. Bring to a boil then let it simmer, covered for about 30 minutes or until the guavas are tender.

To get a clear liquid, do not mash the guava pulp. Strain the juice through a muslin cloth or a jelly bag and leave it to drip overnight.

Measure the juice obtained, which would be around 7-8 cups and add it to a pot. Add the sugar and stir it till the sugar dissolves. Boil rapidly and skim off the scum from the top. It would take around 20 minutes to reach the setting point. Test for setting and then fill into sterilized jars and seal.