Buzz
Every August, the trees are laden with ripe, golden guavas, enticing both adults and children with their crisp, sweet flavor. However, without the expertise in choosing guavas, one might end up with bitter or rotten fruits. To ensure you pick the perfect guavas, consider these easy tips compiled by Team PasGo below.
1. Why Some Guavas Taste Bitter
Guavas from Dalat contain tannin, which is responsible for the bitter taste in guavas.
A Guide to Choosing Crisp Guavas Without Bitterness
This bitter substance is present in the flesh of unripe guavas and also acts to protect the guava from pest attacks.
2. How to Pick Crisp Guavas Without Bitterness
To select guavas that are perfectly ripe, crisp, sweet, and free from bitterness, homemakers should pay attention to the following important characteristics:
External Inspection
Guavas are prone to bruising, so if you want to choose the best ones, you must observe the outer skin of the fruit. Select guavas with smooth, shiny skins that are not bruised, darkened, or cracked.
A Method to Select Crisp Guavas Without Bitterness is by choosing ones with smooth, shiny skins
Observing Color
Just like choosing other fruits, the color of the skin of a ripe guava is a factor that helps you easily choose the crispiest, non-bitter guavas.
When buying guavas, opt for those with skins that have turned fully orange, uniform in color, or with just a hint of green at the stem, as they are the sweetest. Avoid guavas with green or yellow skins as they may not be fully ripe and could taste bitter.
Guavas with deep orange skins are delicious
Additionally, avoid selecting guavas with darkened, cracked skins as they are likely to be bruised, prone to rotting.
Inspecting the Stem
The next crucial part of a crispy guava determining its crispiness and flavor is the stem.
Choose guavas with plump, non-indented stems as they are the crispiest and most delicious. Pay special attention to the stem area of the guava, avoiding ones with cracked stems as they may have been infiltrated by bacteria.
The stem of a crispy guava protrudes, swells, often crisper and more fragrant than others
Furthermore, observe the leaf stem. If the leaf stem is green, looks fresh, then when eaten, the guava will be crispy and delicious, while a wilted, yellowish leaf stem usually indicates guavas that have been picked for a long time, which may be soft and bland when eaten.
Using your fingers to press
One of the secrets to selecting non-bitter, crisp guavas is to use your fingers to press the guava. We can lightly press the guava to determine if it is delicious or not.
If when pressed, the guava feels firm, not indenting, not soft, then it is fresh, crispy guava. Conversely, if the guava is soft, especially if the guava stem is soft and mushy with many bruises, then you should not buy it.
Using your fingers to press the guava is one way to select non-bitter, crisp guavas
Checking the Weight
A heavy guava
Opt for guavas that feel firm and heavy when held, as they are usually fresh, juicy guavas. On the other hand, guavas that feel light when held are typically ones that have been picked for a while.
This is also a method many people use to select non-bitter, crisp guavas when buying guavas.
3. How to preserve delicious and crispy guavas and maintain their crispness for a long time
To preserve guavas crispy and delicious for longer, after purchasing, you should arrange the guavas interleaved with layers of newspaper, then put them in a tightly sealed plastic bag and place them in the refrigerator compartment. Take out as many guavas as you need.
If you prefer sweeter ripe guavas, you can leave the guavas in a tightly sealed plastic bag outside for 2-3 days before storing them in the refrigerator.
