Guava Compote - The Dorrigo Way

Guava or Feijoa (Psidium) are, like other good foods, cultivated in the neotropic ecozone. Here, on the feet of Dorrigo National Park they are allowed to go 'feral' like so many other flora and fauna.

Collecting the ripe fruit, they exude a strong fragrance filling rooms for hours.

Compote
The scooped out fruit-pulp can be cooked with a bit of water. If you do not like the large seeds, strain them. This is best done (Ad alarm!) with a chinois strainer and the matching beechwood conical pestle. Add a dash of honey and cool. Local wild-foods connoisseurs, who inspired this method of preparation, use the skins and seeds as well to prepare the compote. Serve with yogurt.

Others use the fruit to bake a 'Guava and macadamia torte' or use them for dressing.

Davidson's plum sauce

get
1 kg Davidson's plums, images of the Australian rainforest tree
1kg organic raw sugar
1 cup water

do
Place the plums with the water in a large pot. Boil. Allow to cook for 15 minutes until the plums break down.
Press the plum mass through a fine sieve to remove the seeds, so that a smooth sour liquid is formed. Return it to the stove and reheat.
Add the sugar and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally.
Use less or more sugar according to your preference (see tip below).
Bottle it up in jars or bottles and store in the fridge.
Serve cold with yoghurt or ice cream on a hot day.

tip
Because Davidson's plums are extremely sour - too sour to even try to eat raw - they need a lot of sugar. It is always good to reduce sugar wherever possible, but in this recipe quite a lot is used. You can try to cut it back, but test the sauce while preparing it otherwise it may be too sour for you or your friends to eat.

The plums can be frozen for several months before using them in this way. It also is very delicious with ice cream or yogurt.

See also
Davidson's Plums with Cashew Cream

Image 1. Plum sauce 2. Biscuits with Davidson's jam/sauce, Davidson's plum and leaf