Standing here in my orchard in the rolling hills of San Diego’s East County, the air is thick with a scent that reminds me of a mix between pineapple, mint, and expensive perfume. It is late October, and the *Acca sellowiana*—better known as the Pineapple Guava or Feijoa—is dropping fruit.
Can you eat feijoa skin? The short answer is an emphatic yes. In fact, if you are strictly a “scoop and eat” person, you are experiencing only half the flavor profile this incredible South American native has to offer. However, simply saying “yes” ignores the nuance that makes this fruit so polarizing.
The skin is intense, tart, and sometimes bitter, acting as a dramatic counterpoint to the floral sweetness of the creamy interior.
Ever ask yourself why we pay a premium for “sour” candy but throw away the natural tartness that balances our sweetest fruits?
I want to take you through the reality of eating the whole fruit, from the soil requirements that change the skin’s texture to the best ways to prepare it so you actually enjoy it.
The Flavor Dynamic: Why the Skin Matters
The flesh of a feijoa is undeniably sweet, with notes of strawberry and pineapple. But the skin? The skin is where the attitude lives. It possesses a resinous, pine-like acidity that comes from the same terpenes found in citrus rinds. When you eat the skin and flesh together, you create a complex flavor interaction that chefs call “complexity.” It is the same principle as lime juice on a papaya or salt on a watermelon. The sour skin cuts through the sugar, preventing the fruit from tasting one-dimensional.
Here at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we’ve found that customers who start eating the skin describe the fruit as “refreshing” and “zesty,” while those who only eat the flesh often describe it as “cloying” or “perfumey” after a few bites. The skin is the palate cleanser built right into the fruit. I recall a specific instance last autumn when a local brewer came looking for fruit for a sour ale.
He initially planned to pulp only the flesh. I handed him a slice of the ‘Nazemetz’ variety with the skin on. He chewed it for a second, his eyes went wide, and he realized the acidity he needed for his beer was entirely in the green rind he planned to compost.
The skin of the feijoa holds the highest concentration of antioxidants, specifically bioflavonoids, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. Discarding the skin means discarding nearly 50% of the fruit’s health benefits.
Not All Skins Are Created Equal
This is where most people get burned—figuratively and literally. If your only experience with feijoa skin was bitter, leathery, and unpleasant, you likely ate a variety not suited for fresh eating, or one grown in poor conditions. In San Diego, we are lucky to have a climate that mimics the fruit’s native highlands in Brazil and Uruguay, allowing us to grow superior cultivars.
I grow several varieties, and the difference in skin edibility is night and day. A ‘Mammoth’ feijoa has a thick, pebbly skin that can taste like eating a pine cone. A ‘Coolidge’ or ‘Nazemetz’, however, has a thin, delicate skin that snaps pleasantly when you bite it. You cannot judge all feijoa skins by a single bad experience.
Variety Comparison Table
To help you navigate the orchard, here is a breakdown of the common varieties we see in California and how their skins stack up:
| Variety | Skin Thickness | Flavor Profile | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nazemetz | Paper-thin, smooth | Sweet-tart, non-bitter | Fresh eating whole |
| Coolidge | Medium, slightly bumpy | Balanced acidity | Salads and Baking |
| Mammoth | Thick, rough, pebbly | Resinous, bitter | Scooping only (discard skin) |
| Trask | Medium-thin | Smooth, aromatic | Preserves and Jams |
Our experience at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables has shown that the ‘Nazemetz’ is the absolute champion for skin consumption. It almost melts in your mouth compared to the older heritage varieties.
How to Train Your Palate (and Prepare the Fruit)
If you are ready to stop wasting half your harvest, don’t just grab a fruit and gnaw on it. There is a technique to maximizing the experience while minimizing the shock of the tartness. The flower end (the bottom) often retains hard, woody sepals that are unpleasant to chew. The stem end can also be tough.
Here is my personal method for introducing skeptics to whole-fruit eating:
- The Hygiene Check: Feijoas drop when ripe. That means they touch the dirt. Wash them thoroughly with cold water. We use a weak vinegar solution to ensure any ground bacteria is gone.
- The Surgical Trim: Take a sharp paring knife and slice off the very top and very bottom of the fruit. You want to remove the hard “button” on the bottom completely.
- The Coin Cut: Slice the fruit horizontally into thin rounds, about the thickness of a quarter. This ratio of skin-to-flesh is critical because it ensures the sweet jelly hits your tongue at the same time as the tart skin.
- The Salt Trick: If the skin still tastes too “piney” for you, sprinkle a tiny pinch of sea salt on the slice. The salt suppresses the bitterness receptors on your tongue and amplifies the sweetness.
We always tell our CSA members: If the fruit doesn’t yield slightly to a gentle squeeze, the skin will be bitter. Only eat the skin of fully soft, ripe fruit.
Cooking with the Skin: A Chef’s Secret
I once ruined an entire 5-gallon batch of chutney by peeling the feijoas. I spent hours scooping out the flesh, thinking I was making a “high-end” product. The result was a beige, unappetizing mush that tasted flat. I learned that day that the skin provides not just texture and color, but the natural pectin needed to set jams and jellies. Without the skin, you are just boiling fruit sugar.
When you cook the skin, the heat breaks down the tough cell walls and volatilizes some of the stronger pine oils, leaving behind a sophisticated tartness that mimics quince or rhubarb. We at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables believe in whole-fruit utilization, so we incorporate the skin into almost every value-added product we make.
Here are the best ways to utilize the skin in the kitchen:
- Feijoa Salsa: Pulse whole feijoas (ends trimmed) with jalapeños, red onion, and cilantro. The tart skin replaces the need for lime juice entirely.
- Smoothies: High-speed blenders pulverize the skin completely. You get a massive fiber boost and a vibrant green color without tasting any bitterness.
- Roasting: Slice them in half and roast them alongside pork or chicken. The skin caramelizes and creates a savory, tart glaze.
- Dehydrated Chips: Slice them thin and dry them. The skin becomes chewy like a candy rind, and the flavor concentrates into a sour-sweet explosion.
My favorite discovery was using whole frozen feijoas as “ice cubes” in a gin and tonic. As they thaw, the skin releases oils that flavor the drink better than a lime wedge.
The Growing Factor: Why Your Skin Might Be Tough
If you are growing your own, you have direct control over the quality of the skin. In San Diego, our biggest challenge is the dry heat of September and October, right when the fruit is sizing up. If the tree experiences water stress during this final swell, it responds by toughening the skin to retain moisture. This is a survival mechanism for the plant, but a culinary disaster for the farmer.
I maintain a strict watering schedule of about 2 inches of water per week for my mature trees during the harvest window. I also rely heavily on mulch. I keep a 6-inch layer of wood chips under the canopy to keep the surface roots cool. Hot roots lead to bitter fruit. It is that simple.
Avoid heavy nitrogen fertilizers after July. Excess nitrogen late in the season forces the tree to produce vegetative growth rather than focusing on fruit quality, resulting in puffy fruit with thick, flavorless rinds.
Another factor is the position on the tree. Fruit that ripens in the shade inside the canopy often has thinner, sweeter skin than fruit that is sun-scalded on the outer branches. When I’m picking a snack for myself, I always reach deep into the shady center of the tree.
The Verdict
So, can you eat the skin? Absolutely. Should you? If you want the full experience, yes. It transforms the fruit from a simple sugar delivery system into a complex, gastronomic delight. It reduces food waste, saves you prep time, and floods your body with antioxidants.
However, listening to your palate is key. If you try a slice and the skin tastes like turpentine, don’t force it. It might be the variety, the growing conditions, or just your personal taste. But don’t write it off forever based on one bad bite.
Caution: If you are buying feijoas from a conventional grocery store, be wary of waxes and pesticide residues. The skin is porous. I strongly recommend only eating the skin of organic or homegrown fruit.
Next time you hold that green, fragrant egg in your hand, skip the spoon. Wash it, slice it, and savor the contrast. It is the way nature intended it to be eaten.
Now, I need to get back to the packing shed; we have a few crates of ‘Nazemetz’ that need sorting, and I plan on eating at least a few of them—skin and all—before the sun goes down.
