Feijoa 3 Ways: Canned Feijoas in Light Syrup (Part II)

I’m back… back with another recipe to take down that new harvest of feijoas this week. I’ve been quite enjoying the feijoa salsa I made last week, but truth be told, I need a little break from feijoa-eating as that last jar is still staring at me every time I open the fridge. So, I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce an easy way to preserve that next batch of fruit, and one that offers a bit more versatility than just jam.

Thing is, I may be a little tired of feijoas right now, but in a few months’ time I know I’ll miss that distinctive pineapple-guava flavor. Canned feijoas take care of that craving enough that I’m content to wait another two seasons for my tree to produce more fruit.

So where would you use canned feijoas? Well, anywhere you’d use canned fruit, really… on top of oatmeal or pancakes, yogurt or cottage cheese; as a filling for pies or cakes; mixed into smoothies or sangrias; and even chopped into chutneys or sauces. Don’t discard the syrup, either — the fruit infusion makes a tasty mixer for cocktails or sodas. In fact, you can make a Bellini-inspired sparkler using feijoa syrup and feijoa puree. Or, freeze the syrup and make feijoa cubes to drop into iced tea (my favorite!). You could even use the syrup to make icing for cupcakes or brownies.

I actually plan to put up a big batch of feijoas for the Boy Scout-style Dutch oven cobblers I bake on every camping trip! (Much better than the canned peaches I’ve been buying from the store.)

Canned Feijoas in Light Syrup

Makes 5 pints

Ingredients

25 to 35 feijoas, peeled and chopped
4 cups water
1 1/4 cups sugar

Method

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the water and sugar to a boil, stirring to prevent the sugar from burning.

Add the chopped feijoas and bring the mixture back to a boil for one minute.

Remove the saucepan from heat. Funnel the feijoas into hot, clean jars, then pour the syrup over the fruit so they’re fully submerged. Leave at least 1/2-inch headspace.

Run a chopstick around the inside of the jars to remove any trapped air bubbles, wipe the rims clean, then seal with lids and bands.

Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes (adjusting time for altitude as needed).