Goiabada

Goiabada is a firm guava and sugar preserve, widely eaten across the Portuguese-speaking world. It dates back to colonial Brazil, where it remains one of the country's best-known sweets.

History

Goiabada dates back to colonial Brazil. Guavas were used in place of the quinces that went into quince cheese, and the sweet took its name from the Portuguese word for guava, goiaba.

Its production demanded large amounts of sugar and, in that context, enslaved labour, since it was cooked in big batches in copper cauldrons over a slow fire. Over time its texture varied widely, from a soft paste to-be-spread to hard slabs that must be cut with a knife, and industrial manufacturing brought it into cans and boxes.

Culture

In rural Brazil it is still made at home, both for family use and for sale. It is eaten on its own, with fresh Minas cheese in a pairing known as Romeu e Julieta, or spread on toast at breakfast.

The sweet also features in Portuguese and Brazilian baking: in Portugal it fills the bolo de rosas, and in Brazil it is used in the rocambole. In Goa, a former Portuguese colony in India, it is called perad and is made seasonally after the guava harvest. It is an important part of the Christmas kuswar platter, a symbol of festive hospitality and shared household work.

Trivia