As my husband Lulu’s little 6-year-old sister was enjoying a cup of guava apple sauce I recently made, she asked: ”The jar is almost finished. Jackie, have you put this recipe on PhamFatale?” I replied to her that apple sauce was very easy to make and that all you need is ripe and very sweet fruit.
The munchkin insisted and asked:
” How do you know when the fruits are ripe?
Well, remember, as soon as we picked the guavas, we placed them in a paper bag, along with a banana and the gas released from the banana made the guava so fragrant.”
It got me thinking that maybe making apple sauce wasn’t as obvious as I thought, so here’s the detailed recipe. I actually prepared it with Daddy, my father-in-law. The guavas were peeled, chopped and boiled with unfiltered apple juice (we love our juicer!) until mushy. In a separate saucepan, the same method was used for sweet apples (I used Fuji apples). Once the seeds of the guava were strained, both the guava and apple sauce are combined, then sweetened with honey. Voilà!
1. Info for Guava Apple Sauce Recipe
- Cook Time: 18 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Servings: 2
- Calories: 70 kcal
2. Ingredients for Guava Apple Sauce Recipe
- 4 Fuji apples
- 2 cups unfiltered apple juice
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 5 ounces ripe guavas
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- 6 ounces honey (or granulated sugar), to taste
3. Directions:
- Juicing the apples: In a home juicing machine, juice 3 apples (you could also use store-bought juice or water). Set aside.
- Making apple sauce: Core and dice the remaining apple. In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the diced apple. Toss well. Add 1 tablespoon of honey and toss until the apple pieces are nicely coated. Add the ground cinnamon (if used). Thin the apple sauce with ½ cup of apple juice. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Making guava sauce: Trim, peel and chop the guavas. Place them in another saucepan and add the remaining apple juice. Bring to a boil, then immediately lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Stir every now and then to prevent the fruit from sticking to the bottom. The mixture should be softened. Remove from the heat. Filter the mixture, using a large-mesh strainer and a spatula. Remove and discard the solids (guava seeds).
- Assembly time: Pass the apple sauce and guava sauce through a food mill (or use a food processor), depending on the consistency you like.
- Pour the guava apple sauce into a saucepan. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes and add the honey (you could use granulated sugar as well or just omit the sweeteners, depending on the naturally high sugar content of the fruit). Bring to a boil one more time, then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 15 additional minutes. Stir occasionally. Bring one last time to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat.
- Canning the guava apple sauce (optional): I ended up canning 2 (½ pint jars) and storing the rest in the refrigerator.
- While the guava apple sauce is simmering in the last 15 minutes, fill a pot of water and bring to just under a boil. Place the Mason jars, lids, heat-proof funnel and tongs in the pot and boil for 10 minutes. Be sure to read the instructions that come with your Mason jars. They’ll give you exact time and techniques.
- Remove the jars from the water and fill with the guava apple sauce, leaving at least ¼-inch of head space or whatever your canning directions say. Carefully place the lids on the jars. Tighten the collar around each jar. Bring your large pot of water to a boil and place all the sealed jars in it for 10 minutes.
- Remove the jars from the water. If the top of the lid still pops, the vacuum didn’t form and you’ll need to consume the guava apple sauce in the next couple of weeks, storing it in the refrigerator. Otherwise you can safely store it in your pantry for up to a year.
- Serve at room temperature.
- Bon appétit!