Like Easter, Christmas and tax time, feijoa season seems to start earlier every year. Aotearoa’s iconic fruit has already started falling from trees across the country, with prices steadily dropping as the available crop increases.
If you’re tempted to pick feijoas from trees in community gardens or from your neighbours’, resist. Feijoas don’t ripen off the tree, so the fruit will be unpleasantly sour and hard. Pick up any fallen feijoas as soon as you see them and store them in the fridge.
Feijoas are falling, are you ready? Photo: Elena G for Unsplash
Feijoas freeze brilliantly, either whole or peeled and sliced (if going down this route, freeze the fruit on trays in a single layer before shifting into a freezer bag or other container so it doesn’t all stick together in a giant frozen lump).
Instant Feijoa Ice Cream Photo: Nadia Lim
Freezing feijoas not only saves them for later in the year, but also means you’re just a whiz away from Nadia Lim’s Instant Feijoa Icecream.
If you’ve forgotten to freeze the feijoas but still have a hankering for ice cream, Christall Lowe has you covered. Her Feijoa Icecream doesn’t require any fancy kit and is ready to eat after five hours in the freezer.
Photo: Christall Lowe
I’m of the mind that it’s never too cold for an ice cream but if you prefer hot puddings, Julie Biuso’s Feijoa and Banana Crumble will do double duty for dessert and breakfast. Niki Bezzant’s Apple, Feijoa and Ginger Strudel is another excellent way to make the most of autumn’s harvest.
Photo: Cooks Illustrated
Lastly, if you’ve got a colleague who brings bags of the good green eggs to work, return the favour by turning them into Al Brown’s Feijoa and Almond Cake (it’s sturdy enough to carry on a commute). If you're very lucky, they'll realise they're on to a good thing and keep you in steady supply for months to come.
