As I transition from unusual ingredients to more everyday cooking, I thought I’d bridge the gap in the 2nd to last Kitchen Adventure by sharing something I’d normally do in the kitchen: bake with 2 local, seasonal ingredients, feijoa and Meyer lemon. Feijoa, also known as pineapple guava and guavaseteen, are the small elliptical green fruits you see above. They are native to Brazil, but now commercially grown in California and New Zealand.
The skin is edible but tastes pretty bitter, while the flesh has a wonderful combo of pineapple, guava and strawberry flavors. To eat one, I recommend either cutting it open and scooping out the flesh, or biting one end and sucking it out. To find ripe feijoas, gently squeeze them – they should give just slightly, like an avocado. Try using them in jam, salsa, chutney, smoothies, or this lovely muffin recipe. The Meyer lemon gives a nice tang to the muffin batter, while the little chunks of feijoa add some sweetness and tropical flavor.
Feijoa Meyer Lemon Muffins
Makes 10-12 muffins
- 50g butter ( = around 3.5 T. I only had 40g of butter and added 10g canola oil, which was fine), melted
- 1/2 C Meyer lemon juice
- 1 t finely grated Meyer lemon rind
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 C unbleached flour
- 1/2 C whole wheat flour
- 1/2 C sugar
- 2 1/2 t baking powder
- 1 C feijoa, peeled and roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Peel and chop feijoas.
In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, lemon juice, lemon rind, and eggs. Mix in both kinds of flour, sugar, and baking powder until just combined. Gently fold in feijoa and fill muffin pans 3/4 full with batter.
Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Amy
December 19, 2010 at 10:52 am (13 years ago)What an interesting combo for a muffin! These sound delicious! Feijoas don’t show up nearly enough in desserts here! Thanks for sharing :)!
TiffKey
December 19, 2010 at 4:15 pm (13 years ago)Mmmmmm…. I’ll have to try feijoa! When I first saw the title for the post, I thought you made beans and lemon muffins (the word for beans in Portuguese is feijão!). This sounds much better 😀
Joy
December 20, 2010 at 12:00 pm (13 years ago)The muffins looks wonderful. I have never had a feijoa before. I have to keep my eye out for them the next time i’m at the store.
Tes
December 21, 2010 at 3:19 am (13 years ago)I have never heard or seen feijoa before. it sounds so amazing. Your muffins look so gorgeous 🙂
bob holtz
December 24, 2010 at 12:07 pm (13 years ago)i have about 10 pounds of small and moderately ripe pineapple guava , mostly recently fallen on the ground from local large shrubs. the fruit is good but a little tart. i was hoping to make a pg galette for xmas. any recommendations. ex. is it better to bake the fruit flesh as is or to make or to cook it alittle, like a filling. thanks. bob holtz…fairfax ,ca
Stephanie
December 24, 2010 at 1:12 pm (13 years ago)Bob – That’s a lot of pineapple guava! It’s supposed to best after it falls (that’s how you can tell it’s ripe). I’ve never cooked it for a filling, but when I chopped it and baked it in the muffin batter, it came out great (had the texture similar to baked apples). Good luck and enjoy!