Fruits of the wild

Last year I was excited to discover that we had wild guava trees growing on our property. Recently I also found a wild persimmon tree as well. And whilst I haven't worked out what to do with the persimmon yet, we have been making guava and almond chutney with the wild guava. Last year was our first attempt and it was awesome.

So, I was delighted to see that all of the rain we have had this year has resulted in a bumper crop.

I worked out yesterday that since 1 January we have had more than 800mm of rain. No wonder the bank behind the house continues to flow (sometimes gush) with water. The soil around here is completely sodden at the moment. But everything is growing and growing and growing (especially the grass)!

Anyway, back to the guava chutney. MOTH and I went and picked about 3kg of fruit today. After peeling and deseeding it, we ended up with 1.5kg of fruit meat. That will make about 5 large bottles of chutney.

Chopped up wild guava ready for MOTH to make chutney

The finished product is perfect with a sharp cheddar and, of course, a chilled glass of Pinot Noir. Whilst 5 bottles will last us nearly a year, I'm still thinking about picking some more fruit to make some more. It's been such a hit with visitors, I might make some up for Christmas pressies or something. (I found another large group of trees the other day that were laden with fruit and there are a heap of trees at Eaton's Crossing of Cedar Creek as well. But given MOTH actually makes the chutney (I'm in charge of prepping the fruit), I will need to check with him first. He is a first rate cook. And as they say, why have a dog and bark yourself?