Goiabada

Goiabada

Commercially produced Goiabada
Alternative names	Guava paste, guava cheese
Type	Jam
Place of origin	Brazil
Region or state	Minas Gerais
Main ingredients	Guava, sugar, water

Goiabada Portuguese pronunciation: [goja'badɐ] (from goiaba, guava) is a popular dessert throughout the Portuguese-speaking countries of the world, dating back to the colonial days in Brazil, where guavas were used as a substitute for the quinces used to make marmelada (quince cheese). An abundance of sugar and slave labour were crucial for its confection, in large cauldrons cooking over a slow fire. It is a conserve made of guava and sugar. It is still commonly made at home for family use or by home industry outlets (traditional recipes) or as processed food.

It is known as guava paste or guava cheese throughout the English-speaking Americas, especially the Caribbean and pasta de guayaba or guayabate in Spanish-speaking Americas. It is commercially available, most often packaged in flat metal cans, or as long rectangular blocks in chipboard boxes. It is called Perad in Goa, a former Portuguese colony.

In Brazil, goiabada is usually eaten with Minas cheese. This combination is referred to as "Romeo and Juliet." It is particularly popular spread on toast at breakfast, or served hot with cheese inside an empada pastry, as a kind of miniature pie. In Portugal, it is used as the filling of the popular bolo de rosas (rose cake) in which a layer of pastry is covered with goiabada, then rolled and cut into pieces that resemble roses. This same cake is called rocambole in Brazil, and also uses a layer of pastry covered with goiabada, then rolled and served, as a Swiss roll. Another popular dessert is the bolo de rolo.

The many different kinds of goiabada depend on the type of guava, and with slightly different textures and flavors. In Brazil, the most widely accepted to be the best (for "Romeo and Juliet") is called goiabada cascão (with fragments of guava in the paste).