Nutrition feijoa

The crisp morning air in my San Diego orchard always carries a specific, perfume-like sweetness come late autumn. That scent signals the arrival of one of my absolute favorite crops: the Feijoa.

While you might hear folks at the farmers market calling it a Pineapple Guava or occasionally a Guavasteen, botanists know it as Acca sellowiana. This resilient, evergreen shrub doesn’t just look pretty in the landscape with its silver-green foliage; it produces a fruit that is a nutritional powerhouse wrapped in a tart, green skin.

Emily Rodriguez

I remember my first encounter with this fruit nearly two decades ago. I bit into it like an apple, skin and all, and the intense sourness nearly made me swear off them forever. That was a rookie mistake. Once I learned the proper way to eat them and understood their incredible health profile, they became a staple on my plot.

Today, I want to walk you through the real nutritional value of this South American native and why it deserves a prime spot in your diet.

Feijoa is not just a fruit; it is a seasonal event that rewards patience with a flavor profile somewhere between a strawberry, pineapple, and a kiwi.

Here at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we’ve found that many people walk right past these egg-sized green gems because they simply don’t know what lies inside. It’s a shame because, pound for pound, Feijoas offer a nutrient density that rivals many of the commercial “superfoods” imported from halfway across the globe.

We aren’t just talking about basic vitamins here; we are looking at a complex profile of antioxidants and essential minerals that support everything from immune function to gut health.

The Nutritional Breakdown: More Than Just Vitamin C

When we talk about nutrition, we have to look past the marketing buzzwords and get into the hard data. One of the most standout features of the Feijoa is its fiber content. A single cup of raw feijoa puree provides about 16 grams of dietary fiber. That is massive. For comparison, that is roughly double what you get from the same amount of pears. This high fiber content acts like a broom for your digestive system, regulating blood sugar levels and keeping you full longer.

Unique among many fruits, Feijoas are a reliable source of iodine, providing approximately 3mg per kg of fruit, which is essential for healthy thyroid function and metabolism regulation.

Let’s talk about the immune system. We all know citrus is the go-to for colds, but Feijoa is a serious contender. A 100-gram serving delivers roughly 32.9 milligrams of Vitamin C. That is over 50% of your daily recommended intake right there.

But it’s not just the vitamin C; it’s the synergy with other compounds. The fruit is loaded with flavonoids and glycosides. Think of these compounds as the fruit’s personal security team that, when ingested, helps your body fight off oxidative stress.

To get the maximum Vitamin C retention, consume the fruit raw within 2-3 days of it dropping from the tree; cooking or processing can reduce the vitamin content by up to 40%.

I once ruined an entire batch of feijoa jam by over-boiling it, thinking I was concentrating the nutrients. Not only did I kill the fresh flavor, but I also likely destroyed the heat-sensitive vitamins I was trying to preserve. Now, I mostly eat them fresh or blend them raw into smoothies to keep those enzymes intact.

To give you a clearer picture, here is how Feijoa stacks up against common fruits regarding key nutrients per 100g serving:

Growing Conditions That Boost Nutrition

You might wonder, does how I grow the fruit actually change what’s inside it? Absolutely. In San Diego, we have a unique advantage with our Mediterranean climate, but the soil needs specific attention to produce nutrient-dense fruit. Feijoas are tough, hardy down to about 15°F, but they are heavy feeders if you want quality.

Our team at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables loves this plant because it is drought-tolerant once established, yet we never let them go thirsty during fruit set. I water my mature shrubs with about 5-10 gallons of water per plant every week during the summer dry spell. If you starve the plant of water in July and August, the fruit will be small, dry, and lack the juice that carries the sugars and vitamins.

Do not rely solely on our native heavy clay soil; amend your planting site with 30% compost and 20% pumice to ensure the drainage necessary to prevent root rot while retaining moisture.

I view the soil as a battery storing nutrients for the plant. If the battery is dead, the fruit is empty. I apply a slow-release, organic 8-8-8 fertilizer in late winter just before new growth pushes out. This ensures the plant has the nitrogen for leaf growth and potassium for fruit development.

One year, I skipped the potassium and used a high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer by mistake. The result? Gorgeous, lush green bushes that looked amazing but produced exactly zero fruit. It was a humbling lesson in nutrient balance.

Harvesting at Peak Potency

Harvesting Feijoa is unlike harvesting apples or stone fruit. The feijoa tree knows exactly when the fruit is at peak nutrition and ripeness because it will drop the fruit to the ground. Never pull a feijoa off the tree. If you have to tug it, it is not ready, and the sugar content hasn’t fully developed.

I walk my orchard rows every single morning from late September through December. I gently pick up the fruits from the ground. If they sit on the damp soil for more than 2 days, they start to rot or get eaten by ants. The flavor profile of a ground-harvested fruit is complex and floral, whereas a tree-picked fruit tastes like tart cardboard and has significantly lower antioxidant levels.

Ever wonder why some fruits split before ripening? It usually happens when a dry spell is followed by heavy irrigation, causing the inside to grow faster than the skin.

Culinary Applications: Eating for Health

The culinary versatility of Feijoa is where the fun begins, but it is also where people get confused. The skin is edible, but it is intensely tart and can be bitter. However, that skin is where a huge concentration of antioxidants resides. If you can handle the pucker, eating the whole fruit is the healthiest method.

For most of my customers, I recommend the “scoop method.” It’s a ritual in my house. You slice the fruit in half horizontally and use a teaspoon to scoop out the creamy, jelly-like center. It’s like eating a natural dessert cup.

My kids used to refuse green smoothies until I started adding two scooped feijoas; the unique ‘tutti-frutti’ flavor masks the kale completely while adding a massive fiber boost.

If you are looking to incorporate Feijoa into your diet to take advantage of its health benefits, here are my top recommendations:

• Morning Smoothies: Blend the flesh of 3 feijoas with a banana and almond milk. The potassium boost from this combination is fantastic for post-workout recovery.
• Salsa Verde: Dice the firm flesh (peeled) and mix with tomatillos, lime, and cilantro. The acidity of the feijoa replaces the need for vinegar.
• Salad Toppers: Slice peeled feijoas into thin rounds and toss them into a spinach salad with walnuts. The iodine in the fruit pairs perfectly with the iron in the spinach.
• Meat Marinade: The enzymes in raw feijoa juice act as a natural meat tenderizer, similar to papaya or pineapple.

Processing for Long-Term Storage

Since the season in San Diego is relatively short—spanning roughly three months—preservation is key. I have found that freezing the pulp is the best way to maintain nutritional integrity without adding the mounds of sugar required for jams.

Here is the step-by-step process I use to freeze roughly 50 pounds of pulp every season:

1. Wash and Sanitize: I wash all fruits in a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water to remove any ground debris or potential pathogens.
2. The Cut: Slice the fruit in half. Do not peel it beforehand; it’s too slippery and you’ll lose a finger.
3. Scooping: Use a sharp-edged grapefruit spoon to remove the flesh. Drop the pulp immediately into a bowl containing lemon water to prevent oxidation, which turns the flesh brown and degrades vitamin C.
4. Portioning: Pour the pulp into silicone muffin trays and freeze. Once solid, pop them out and store them in vacuum-sealed bags.
5. Thawing: Thaw slowly in the refrigerator, not in the microwave, to preserve the texture and enzymatic activity.

Never store feijoas in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature; the trapped ethylene gas will cause them to rot within 24 hours.

Why This Matters

Through our work with Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we believe that growing and eating local, unusual crops connects us to the land in a way that supermarket shopping never can. When you eat a Feijoa you grew yourself, you aren’t just getting 30mg of Vitamin C; you are getting the satisfaction of patience and the specific mineral profile of your own soil.

The Feijoa is a survivor. It handles our San Diego droughts, resists most pests without pesticides, and provides nutrition when most other fruit trees are dormant. Incorporating this fruit into your diet is an easy, delicious way to boost your intake of fiber and essential minerals without relying on supplements.

What’s the real secret to success with Feijoas? It is simply paying attention. Pay attention to the water schedule, pay attention to the soil drainage, and most importantly, listen to the tree when it drops its bounty. It’s nature’s way of saying, “Dinner is served.”

I once tried to force-ripen green feijoas in a paper bag with bananas. While they turned soft, they never developed the signature aroma and tasted strictly sour—don’t waste your time trying to cheat nature.

Whether you have one bush in a pot on your patio or an acre of orchard like me, the Feijoa is a generous friend. Give it a little respect, and it will keep you healthy for years to come.