Tangy Guava Jelly Food

TANGY GUAVA JELLY

Steps:

• Place juice and pectin in a large stainless steal pot and bring to a quick boil.
• Add sugar and bring back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute,, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat, skim, ladle into hot, clean jars and seal.
• Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
• Guava juice-wash 2 quarts of guavas, remove blossom end and cut into slices.
• Add water to cover, bring to a boil, and boil gently for 15 minutes.
• Strain through a jelly bag.
• Reheat juice to boiling and pour into clean hot jars.
• Seal.

GUAVA JELLY

Steps:

• Dice guavas into one inch cubes.
• Place in a large saucepan and cover with just enough water to cover the fruit well.
• Cover and cook till guavas are very tender, about half an hour.
• Cool.
• Cover a large bowl with a muslin cloth and invert fruit onto the cloth taking care to catch the liquid that drips through the muslin, into the bowl.
• Gather the four ends of the cloth and tie a knot and hang this'bag' for about four hours and collect all the drippings into the bowl.
• LIGHTLY squeeze out any juice left in the cloth.
• Discard pulp.
• Measure the liquid.
• For every cup of liquid add one cup of sugar and one tablespoon of lemon juice.
• (Eg. if there are four cups of liquid you would need to add four cups of sugar and four tablespoons of lime/lemon juice.) Put this mixture back on fire and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and cook, stirring constantly (as the liquid tends to boil over), till the liquid starts coating the spoon thickly and the juice/jelly drips from the spoon in jointed drops.
• Let stand for half an hour and pour into jars while still warm.
• Cover and seal.

BABA'S GUAVA JELLY

Steps:

• Select guavas that are slightly under ripe. Wash, trim stem ends and cut in half.
• Put in large kettle and add water until it shows through the fruit.
• Cook gently until guavas are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Strain through colander into an enamel bowl (I suspect glass is OK).
• Stain the juice through linen (an old napkin will work) tying the ends up so it can hand over the spigot in the sink and drip into the enamel bowl overnight.
• Make the jelly in small batches. Place juice, lemon and sugar into an appropriate sized pot. A large one is good so it can boil quickly.
• Stir the mixture at first, until the sugar has dissolved.
• After the jelly comes to a full boil, let it cook for 18 minutes or until the jelly test done.
• Pour into sterilized jars, seal and use safe canning methodology.

STRAWBERRY GUAVA JAM

Steps:

• Select guavas that are still firm. Wash, trim off top and bottom and cut in half. Then use a grapefruit spoon to scoop out the center with all seeds into 1 bowl and skin and meat into another bowl.
• Place the seedy bowl into a blender and add just a tad of water and pulse a couple times. Strain with a strainer to catch only the seeds or use a netting material and squeeze juice and pulp out.
• Place the juice and meat with skins in a large pot and add water until it shows through the fruit.
• Cook gently until guavas are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Add lemon and sugar.
• Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
• After the jam comes to a full boil, let it cook for 15-20 minutes or until done.
• Use a stick blender to reduce the size of the meat (or process in food processor or blender -- I prefer the stick as it is easier and allows you to leave nice size fruit in the jam.
• Pour into sterilized jars, seal and use safe canning methodology.

SWEET GUAVA GRILLED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt, pepper and garlic together. Pour over chicken in a ziploc freezer bag. Force out the excess air and message to coat chicken pieces. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
• Discard marinade. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Season the chicken with additional salt, pepper and a little extra cumin.
• Heat up the burners on a gas grill or light charcoal briquettes to preheat the grilling surface. Grill the chicken over medium heat using an indirect heating method to avoid flare-ups. Cook for approximately 30 minutes, turning occasionally until chicken begins to brown.
• For the glaze, mix guava jelly, apple juice, lemon juice and brown sugar in a 1-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently until glaze thickens and reduces somewhat, about 5 to 10 minutes; remove from heat.
• Brush chicken with glaze mixture frequently during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Once glazed, keep a close eye on the chicken because sugar burns easily and tastes terrible.