Guavas are one of my favorite fruits to eat. There are so many varieties of guava (guayaba) that you can choose from. The Tropical White Guava or also known as just the white guava, common guava, or guayaba is one of the most common along with the classic pink guava. Mexican cream, yellow, strawberry, lemon, and pineapple are all other yummy varieties of guava.
In this article, I will focus on the Tropical white guava. It is definitely different from the Mexican guava I reviewed. You will learn where it comes from and where it grows, what the health benefits are, how to eat it, and what it tastes like.
If you love guavas you need to try the Tropical white guava, if you haven’t already. Let’s get to the information!
Where does the Tropical white guava come from?
The white guavas or tropical white guavas are a medium to a large variety of guava and can grow to the size of a baseball. The bumpy skin is green when unripe and will turn yellowish-green to yellow when ripe.
They are native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and Northern South America. However, they are cultivated all over the world in many tropical and subtropical areas.
Places like Brazil, Spain, North Africa, Greece, South Africa, India, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand all grow white guava.
The trees usually range between 10 and 20 ft tall and love warm weather. They have trouble when temps dip below 30 degrees.
Here in the United States, they grow in Tennessee, South Florida, California, Southern Texas, and Arizona. If you live in Zone 9a or 9b you will likely have success growing this amazing fruit.
Health Benefits of the White Guava
There are several health benefits to this magnificent fruit. Below are a handful but not the entire list of benefits:
- Guavas are high in dietary fiber
- High in Vitamin C
- Loaded with Iron, Calcium, Vitamin A, and Potassium
- They can help improve digestion
- Guavas can help improve the immune system
You can find more health benefits at Healthline.
How do you eat white guavas?
As noted above the white guava will be green when it is on the tree and will start to turn yellowish green to yellow as it ripens. They are also climacteric fruits, which means they will continue to ripen once picked.
Most tropical white guavas will be underripe when purchased from the store and will really hard. You will need to let them ripen on your counter. But if you grow them you can let the ripen right on the tree and then pick them at peak ripeness which will be much better than storebought.
To eat ripe guava you can simply just bite into it if it is soft enough, and if it is really ripe that should be the case. Otherwise, another common way of eating the white guava is to cut it in half and then cut it into wedges.
Then inside will have two distinct textures to it an apple or pearlike outer layer or texture and a softer almost translucent inner texture where all the many edible seeds are found.
Simply eat the whole slice of guava, skin, seeds, and all.
They are commonly eaten raw, juiced, used in smoothies, candied, made into fruit bars, and used in muffins, cakes, and other desserts.
What does the tropical white guava taste like?
The taste is very pleasant. The outer part is crisper and resembles a pear and the inner part has a texture like a strawberry and is the sweeter part of the fruit. It is firm and juicy with hints of sour, subtly sour, and a tropical flavor.
An overall description of the taste is something like a combination of a pear and a strawberry. It kind of has its own distinct flavor, it tastes like a white guava, haha.
If you enjoy tasting different fruits and haven’t tried tropical white guava or common guava, give this one a try!
Watch my review video of this fruit!
Here are other fruit reviews you may like:
I haven’t tried white guava, but it sounds delicious!! Thanks for sharing this!
You are welcome! 🙂
this post was super helpful and it makes me want to grow my own guava plant! thank you so much for sharing this amazing info!
You are welcome! I am glad the information was helpful.
I had never tried white guava at home before. Thanks for all the tips! Delicious!
You are welcome!!