Chilean guava

Ugni molinae · Berry

40 pairings

Chilean guava (Ugni molinae), known in Chile as murta or murtilla and sold abroad as Tazziberry, Ugniberry or "New Zealand cranberry," is a small aromatic red berry from an evergreen myrtle-family shrub native to Chile and adjacent southern Argentina. Pea-sized and intensely fragrant, it tastes like a cross of wild strawberry, guava and pineapple with a warm, spicy edge.

Picking a good onedrag

UnderripeOverripe

Colour just upThe keeper of the four. Firm enough to survive the trip home and to hold its shape in a kuchen, a tart or a jar of jam.Buy it

ColourColour risen, one cheek paler

In the handFirm, springs back from the thumb

The calyx crownCrown dry and tight to the berry

ScentFaint strawberry through the punnet

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

What one gives you

0.47 g

Typical weight

one specimen

Keeping ittap a band

A domestic fridge holds it about 3× longer than the counter.

Humidity

90–95%

Never wash before storing — a wet skin, and water caught under the calyx crown, is where grey mould starts. Rinse only what you are about to eat.

Airflow

Loosely covered, kept dry

In a dry cold store, uncovered fruit lost about 11% of its weight in three weeks; a film over the tray checked it. Cover loosely at home, and only if they went in dry.

Preparing