Guavas poached in vanilla syrup with star anise

I love to poach guavas in a lightly spiced syrup. It makes a perfect and easy dessert which you can store in a jar in the fridge. Alternatively, you can enjoy these with yoghurt and granola for breakfast.

I stumbled across a basket of organic guavas, which are in the height of their season, at the Wellness Warehouse last week.  The pungent and tropical smell of guavas reminds me of a far-off Island somewhere I would love to be on. Guavas poached in syrup are my favourite way to eat them.

Amongst them were tiny ripe ones, which I had never seen before, and as a food stylist, I simply cannot resist baby fruit and vegetables. I quite like tinned guavas, so I immediately thought I would poach these.

I wanted to add an extra layer, so I settled on vanilla and star anise to ratchet the flavour up a notch.

I made a sugar syrup with 2 cups of water and 3/4 of a cup of sugar and brought this to the boil, adding a split and scraped vanilla pod and 3-star anise pods. I didn’t bother peeling the fruit, just sliced off the ends, and added this to the syrup, allowing it to gently simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes. The skin gives the fruit a bit of texture, but you could peel them if you prefer.

When the fruit is poached, remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.  Reduce the syrup by boiling for a further 8 – 10 minutes to thicken it.

These poached guavas store well for a few days and make wonderful gifts when packed in pretty glass jars.

The warm aromatics of the star anise and the sweetness of the vanilla worked really well with the guava’s

See my updated recipe:

Guavas poached in a chamomile syrup with vanilla & cinnamon

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