The guava’s place of origin is yet to be determined. However it is widely believed to be an area extending from southern Mexico into or through Central America. The guava was brought to the kingdom of Siam in the seventeenth century. It has since become a staple fruit grown in the Central Plains.

The fruit is round with light green to apple green skin that is either smooth or knobby depending on the variety and has 4 or 5 protruding floral remnants (sepals) at the apex. Varieties differ quite significantly in terms of size, flavor and the number of tiny seeds which can range from under 100 to several hundreds.

The flesh may be white, pink, yellow, or red. The dense flesh which surrounds a central core of seeds is crunchy, sweet and aromatic.

In the best varieties, both the flesh and rind soften to be fully edible as the fruit ripens. As the guava becomes fully ripe, it develops an increasingly sweet, musky odor that is pungent and penetrating.

Guava can be eaten without peeling. Depending on the size of the fruit, it is usually sliced lengthwise into six or eight wedges and the seed portion removed before serving as a pleasant tasting fruit snack. Thais enjoy eating it with a dry salt-sugar-chili dip (prik kap kleua), or a caramel-like dip of palm sugar, fish sauce and pounded chilli (nam pla waan). Chopped guava is also an increasingly popular alternative to raw papaya in the spicy salad som tam.

One of the richest sources of vitamin C, guava contains 160 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, up to ten times the amount found in citrus fruits. It is also rich in vitamins A, phosphorus and calcium. Guava also has high pectin content. Fresh guava juice, which has a delicate but refreshing taste, is now widely available as a bottled drink or in sterilized cartons.

The use of guava still predominates in traditional herbal remedies. Its bark, roots, leaves and flowers are used in folk medicine to treat a range of common maladies such as stomach ailments, alleviating toothaches and easing inflammation of the gums, as well as for healing ulcers and open wounds.