A Feast Of Feijoa

Hardy and Polific but often unloved, this south american native might just be your next fruit salad obsession

- Jennifer Stackhouse

Feijoa label

Common name: Feijoa, pineapple guava

Botanical name: Acca sellowiana

Family: Myrtaceae (myrtle family)

Aspect & soil: Sun; deep, well-drained soil

Best climate: Subtropical to cool

Habit: Evergreen shrub or small tree

Propagation: Seed, cutting, grafting

Difficulty: Easy

Autumn is feijoa season and it’s time to either get your excuses ready not to accept proffered fruit or start to investigate tasty ways to eat them.

That’s because feijoa is the zucchini of the fruit world: once the plants start to crop, they are bountiful and everyone has plenty to give away.

Although it’s not native to New Zealand — it actually comes from Brazil — our near neighbours have embraced the feijoa almost as enthusiastically as they prize the kiwifruit. They seem to grow more feijoas than anywhere on the planet and have the recipes to match for jams, jellies, pies, crumbles and, of course, feijoa chutney. Just check the web if you think I’m exaggerating.

Despite its huge crops, the feijoa (Acca sellowiana), also known as pineapple guava, isn’t a popular fruit in Australia.

It’s time we started to better appreciate both the plant and the fruit as they are versatile and attractive shrubs with a tasty and nutritious — if unloved — crop in autumn.