Guavas are currently grown in tropical and subtropical regions. The name guava in Chinese (番石榴) has a character meaning "Foreign” because they looks like a pomegranate which come from the East, so the Chinese character “Fan” (番) was added when they were first introduced.
Guavas are grown all year round in Taiwan and are rich in vitamin C. It is a crisp and juicy fruit that is high in fiber and low in calories, making it the most accessible and nutritious fruit. Guavas are mainly eaten fresh in Taiwan. Winter is the best season and the price is relatively stable. In summer, the quality of guavas is slightly lower, but their abundance means the price is usually relatively low, so refreshing guava is also quite suitable to eat in the hot summer months.
Guavas originated in the area from Mexico to Peru in South America. It was introduced to Taiwan more than 300 years ago and according to the records of the Agricultural Research Institute, Japanese were introduced to white pulp and yellow pulp varieties by Miyake Miyake and Ishida Masato in 1915. These varieties and others were later imported by the United States, China, India, Thailand, South Africa, Panama and many other countries.
Guava varieties can be divided into climacteric and non-climacteric types. Climacteric fruits refer to those with an obvious respiration peak in the post-ripening stage of the fruit, with post-ripening accelerated after ethylene treatment. Mangos, bananas and papaya are all climacteric fruits. In contrast to climacteric fruit, non-climacteric fruit has no obvious respiration peak in the post-ripening stage. Ethylene treatment causes the respiration rate to increase temporarily but it soon returns to normal.
Climacteric guava varieties have softer pulp and a stronger aroma after ripening, with most being processed varieties; non-climacteric varieties are more brittle and mostly fresh food varieties.
Reference: Guava Theme Pavilion of the Ministry of Agriculture