guavas poached in vanilla syrup with star anise

I stumbled across a basket of organic guavas which are in the height of their season at the Wellness Warehouse last week.  I am not the biggest fan of the guava, although I have to say I love their smell which is pungent and tropical and reminds me of a far off Island somewhere that I would love to be on. Guavas poached in syrup is 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 settled on vanilla and star anise to ratchet the flavour up a notch.

I made a sugar syrup with 2 cups 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 them 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