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Réunion
On the cool plateau of the Plaine des Palmistes, from April to August, orchards are dotted with small, dark red berries, sweet and tangy: the goyavier, fruit of family picking outings and Réunionese jams.
Fruit from Réunion.
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The goyavier of La Réunion is a strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum), native to the lowlands of south-eastern Brazil and northern Uruguay. Introduced very early to China, then brought to England by the botanist Cattley, it retained from these stages its names of 'Chinese guava' and 'Cattley guava'. The West Indies call it strawberry guava, Mauritius Chinese guava.
In La Réunion, it quickly became naturalised, forming very dense thickets in places, and is found across a large part of the island, from the Hauts to the windward slopes. The Réunionese call it simply goyavier, or 'gouyavier', and make the most of it: the season is an occasion for enthusiastic family picking outings, particularly in the Hauts. This success has its downside: highly invasive, the plant ranks among the most invasive species in the world, its hard seeds being spread by birds.
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While the fruit grows wild everywhere, it is the Plaine des Palmistes that turns it into an orchard product. Situated twenty minutes from Saint-Benoît, at an altitude of around 1,000 metres and well watered, this plateau boasts great botanical richness; it supplies around 80% of Réunion's production, or nearly 200 tonnes of goyaviers per year. Cirad regards it as the cradle of goyavier production in La Réunion.
The orchards are terraced across the northern and southern flanks of the plateau, between 900 and 1,300 metres. Harvesting lasts about two months in each orchard, coming later to those at higher altitude. Locally, the season generally begins in April and draws to a close in August. It can start a little late — a fortnight one year — and the lack of sunshine in the Hauts then weighs on the sugar content of the fruit.
Since 2017, the goyavier growers of the Plaine des Palmistes have been represented by the GIEE Nout'Goyavier and the association of the same name, which has 44 members; the sector is strongly supported by the town hall, the Chambre d'agriculture, and the Département. Its ambition can be summed up in three verbs: produce more, better and for longer, to offer goyaviers to consumers across a greater part of the year.
The fruit also has its own festival. Each year, the Fête des goyaviers brings together producers and processors at the Plaine des Palmistes — makers of jams, fruit jellies, and pastries — in a funfair atmosphere, with entertainment, games, shows, and concerts.
Appearance
Small spherical berry around 2.5 cm in diameter, with smooth, glossy skin that turns purplish-red when ripe; the pulp is white and contains small, hard seeds.
Aroma
Highly fragrant when fully ripe, without the musky taste of guava: its aroma is reminiscent of strawberry.
Taste
Gently sweet, with a slight tangy hint.
Texture
White pulp dotted with small, hard seeds that must be discarded.
around two months per orchard, between April and August, later in high-altitude orchards.
the crop is distributed through the cooperative, sold in the fields, offered in punnets, or entrusted to processors.
the main hurdle is extracting the juice and removing the fruit's small, hard seeds.
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The goyavier is eaten raw, just like any fruit. Everything depends on its ripeness: cherry-red, it makes lovely jellies and jams; very ripe, with dark highlights, it is savoured as it is; split open by rain and waterlogged, it is usually turned into juice. It is also made into creams, clafoutis, yoghurt, or sorbet.
Its acidity makes it prized in savoury cooking: it enlivens carris, or is made into rougail with chilli to accompany dishes. It is rich in vitamin C — around 50 mg per 100 g of fruit, twenty times more than an orange. Not to be confused with the guava, which is much larger and very different in taste.
No producer is listed for this product yet.