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Interesting Facts about Feijoa–Erakina

March 17, 2022 4 Mins Read
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Introduction

Feijoa, also called edible fruit, is an evergreen that belongs to the dicot family. It originates from South America. Feijoa is found in subtropical and tropical areas that have cold winters (50 days of freezing temperatures are essential for the successful development of flowers). It grows on slightly acidic, well-drained soil, within the partial shade. Feijoa was collected from the wild during the 19th century and introduced to the remainder of the planet during the 20th century. Feijoa is cultivated as a source of food and for ornamental purposes. New Zealand is one of the best manufacturers of feijoa in the world.

Interesting Feijoa Facts:

  1. The feijoa is additionally referred to as feijoa, and guavasteen.
  2. The feijoa originates from South America but can now be found in subtropical/ tropical places with cold winters that are but 1000 metres below sea level. The cold winters are needed for the event of the flowers which require about 50 days of freezing temperatures to develop.

Feijoa flower

It is used for decoration

  1. Additionally to being grown as a tree providing food, people have feijoa trees for decorative looks.
  2. After a feijoa tree has been planted (whether it’s via seed, cuttings, grafting, or layering), it’ll take 3 to five years before it starts producing fruit.
  3. During the harvest, you’ll shake the feijoa trees to induce the ripe fruit of the tree, then pick them up off the bottom. This may be done every few days as a mature plant can produce 20 to 30kg of feijoa annually.
  4. The feijoa trees mature into trees that are usually within the 3 – 5 metre range, and 5 metres in width.
  5. History of cultivation: The feijoa was first collected within the wilds of southern Brazil in 1815 by German botanist Freidrich Sellow.
  6. The feijoa was introduced to Europe (1870’s) and North America (1900) because of French Botanist Edouard Andre. It wasn’t until the 1920s when feijoa made its thanks to New Zealand.
  7. New Zealand is now one in every, if not the biggest producer of feijoa within the world, with over 800+ tonnes. Pole to Pole could be a company to promote NZ feijoas to the planet. They’ve got a battle on their hands though. Ripe feijoas bruise easily so maintaining them in a very good condition during their brief optimal ripeness state is hard.

A plate of Feijoa

It originated in South America

  1. Other countries that are known to grow Feijoas commercially are the USA (mainly California), Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, France, Italy, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Israel, Australia, Japan and China.
  2. German botanist Otto Karl Berg named the fruit as Feijoa, after a Portuguese Botanist, born in Brazil named João da Silva.
  3. Initially with the scientific name Feijoa Sellowiana, a botanist found that the feijoa is expounded to a different genus (one of 4 within the genus), so it’s now Acca Sellowiana.
  4. There are 20+ forms of feijoa grown, and a few of them have some fun names, like:
  • Apollo and Gemini, named after the space missions because the fruit feels like a rocket (use your imagination).
  • The Kakapo variety is named after the green parrot native to NZ.
  • There’s a spread called Pounamu due to its dark skin, a reminder of the colour of a pounamu stone.
  1. The quality commercial feijoa falls into the 80-120 grams (some varieties are an exception), but like all fruits, there are some massive ones grown. This text shares the story of a couple of 423-gram feijoas.

Feijoa cut in half

It weighs around 80 grams

  1. The feijoa includes a distinct smell, with words like sweet, soft, medicine, feminine, and a reminder of strawberry and pineapple all want to describe the smell. The ester methyl benzoate compound within the feijoa creates the aroma.
  2. The general public eats the feijoa, sort of a kiwifruit. Here are some facts about kiwifruit: slice it in half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. And you’ll be able to eat the skin of a feijoa. Most people don’t eat it because it can taste bitter.
  3. Feijoas are sweet-tasting fruit, like pineapple, and strawberry. The simplest part of the fruit is the jelly-like substance (which has tiny seeds) within the centre. There’s a distinct texture surrounding the jelly, some said it’s sort of a soft pear texture. This is additionally edible.
  4. Nutrition-wise, feijoas have about 55 calories per 100 grams of fruit and are a decent source of: dietary fibres, vitamin C, vitamin K, B vitamin complex, Calcium, Magnesium, Copper.
  5. Feijoas are ripe on the tree from late March to June within the hemisphere and October to December within the hemisphere.
  6. Most people eat feijoas raw, but they will be utilized in a spread of recipes with the tiny fruit packed filled with flavour. You’ll see them in bakeries, lollies, smoothies, and 8-Wired Brewing has an award-winning Feijoa Sour Ale.

Arpit Mangal

16.03.202

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