Although not native to Southeast Asia, the guava (Psidium guajava L.) has become a delicacy across many of the region’s cultures. From street names to cocktail recipes to traditional poetry, the guava has garnered culinary and cultural significance in Southeast Asia over the years.

Guava trees are small to medium-sized trees that can grow up to 10 meters tall. They have a short, thick trunk with smooth, brownish bark and a broad, spreading crown of branches. The leaves are oval-shaped and glossy, with a prominent midrib and veins. The flowers are white and have five petals, and the fruit is round to pear-shaped, with a thin, yellow or greenish skin and sweet, juicy flesh that turns from white to red as the fruit ripens. The fruit tree is native to Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean but is widely cultivated throughout all of the tropics and subtropics.

The guava was likely brought to Southeast Asia by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers in the 15th and 16th centuries who introduced various tropical crops to the region during the colonial era. The exact details of how guava was brought over are unclear, but it is believed that the Spanish introduced it to the Philippines and the Portuguese into India.1 The guava tree thrived in Southeast Asia due to its adaptability to the region's tropical climate and soil conditions. Over time, the guava tree became naturalized, and it is now widely grown throughout the region, especially in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. With a long history in the region, the plant has become ingrained in many Southeast Asian cultures, whether it be traditional medicine or local food cultures, and is still enjoyed today by many.

Etymology

In Malay/Indonesian the guava is called jambu batu, the word jambu having originated from Sanskrit. In Sanskrit jambu refers to a fruit or a rose apple, and is used to refer to a range of apple species in the Malay-speaking world. Of the “jambu (a species of apple) there are the jam bukling merah, (red) ayer mawa, (which tastes like rose water,) jambu bija, the guava, irong the cashew apple, another sort called britis”.2 Jambu batu is the name of the common guava with white flesh. When its flesh ripens and turns red the fruit is then referred to as jambu batu merah which simply translates to red guava. Jambu is used colloquially in Singapore to say pretty/beautiful and batu means rock in Malay so jambu batu literally means pretty rock.

Kampong Life

The guava tree is common in all villages across Malaysia and Singapore and can still be found in old kampong areas in Singapore such as Pulau Ubin. Hence the guava tree has come to be identified closely with the kampong life and nostalgia for the kampong. In an oral history interview, Aloysious Leo De Conceicao, a bank officer and funeral minister who grew up in the east of Singapore, talks about the prevalence of jambu trees in the area in the late 30s and early 40s. According to Aloysious, there “were all these jambus, guavas, all types of guavas especially walking back from school in St. Patrick’s Road, Telok Kurau and all that, they had all types of jambu trees [like] jambu meral lah, jambu this, jambu rose apple”.3 He tells a story about how he and his friends used to go and pluck fruits from trees without permission. They would also take what the Malays call cabang, a fork-shaped branch from the trees. The jambu batu branches would be especially nicely grown in a cabang shape for the kids to take. Then they would cut the branches, burn them and make them into catapults. They were “fond of going to catapult birds or fruits which were high” using the catapults they made from the guava tree branches.4 Kannan Madhavan, another Singapore local born in 1946, recalls how he and other boys used to play barefoot climbing guava trees in the kampong in an oral history interview.5

The association of guava trees with the kampong can be seen in various local literary forms as well. The 1992-published poem ‘Malacca Song’ by Malaysian poet Chin Woon Ping, for example, talks of the “guava wind” as she reminisces about her rural hometown.6

The pantun here, a Malay oral poetic form, also talks of guavas, showing once again what an integral part of traditional life the guava is. This pantun is a nasihat (advice) and relays that “like everything else in life, all positive endeavours need patience and time” to an “individual who is just starting her or his journey of knowledge”.7 So here the guava is used to symbolize a lesson learned or an achievement. This specific pantun belongs to the Melaka Chetti Indian community and is an example of the prevalence of the guava across diverse Southeast Asian cultures.

In Singapore, guava and the different jambu fruits are captured even in street names. The map to the right shows streets named Jalan Jambu Ayer, Jalan Jambu Batu, and Jalan Jambu Mawar.8 These streets, presumably named after the abundance of jambu trees in the area, still exist today in Bukit Timah.

Local Dishes and Beverages

In many Southeast Asian countries, guava is commonly used in local dishes and beverages. It is said that the guava “is delicious if stewed and served with cream, or in a pie”.9 It is also known to make “very good jam”.10 There are many different ways to enjoy guavas, sweet or savory, and different Southeast Asian cultures have their own traditional recipes. In the Philippines, for example, guavas are used to make a sour soup called sinigang no bayabas (pork in guava soup). The well-loved Filipino soup dish is "prepared with pork belly, vegetables and tomatoes cooked in a soup infused with guava” and “has that guava sweet taste”.11

Another dish is asinan buah, a type of Indonesian pickled fruit salad that is “a specialty of the city of Bogor, West Java”.12 It is a “refreshing snack of fruit brined in vinegar, salt, and sugar” for which guavas are often used.13 In fact, guavas are used in many salad dishes in Indonesia, as well as in Singapore and Malaysia. One popular example is rojak, also known as rujak, which is of Javanese origin. It is a “ melange of crunchy fruits and vegetables, coated in a sticky sauce made of fermented shrimp” and “is sweet, salty, sour, crunchy and spicy all at once”.14 The popular mixed fruit salad is “a traditional Malay family favourite and one of Singapore’s most famous hawker dishes”.15 As rojak means ‘eclectic mix’ in colloquial Malay, the dish can be seen as a reflection of the cultural diversity of multiethnic countries like Malaysia and Singapore, “bringing together disparate items with strong flavours into a harmoniously tasty blend”.16

Although mostly used as a side ingredient in local cuisines, guavas can be the main element of some dishes as well. The dish below shows guava slices served with ​​sng buay (sour plum) and dried orange peels at a Peranakan wedding in Singapore. The bride’s side is from Malaysia and they made it homemade. It was said that the guava “was soft and slightly sour, with a bit of sour plum powder then the orange peel made it very citrusy and fresh”.17 Guavas are commonly enjoyed raw with plum powder as a snack in Malaysia and Singapore and with chili salt in Thailand.

Another popular way of consuming guavas is in beverages. Guava juice is very popular in Southeast Asia. It is either sold fresh by street vendors or canned in supermarkets. It can be added to a range of cocktails and mocktails and seems to be a popular ingredient choice for hotel bars in Singapore. The two cocktail recipes here, one made at the Holiday Inn18 and the other at Hyatt Regency19 both use guava juice. The non-alcoholic ‘Island Dream’ drink at the Mandarin Hotel also uses guava juice as one of its main ingredients and “was the winning drink in the mocktail competition” at the 1988 Singapore Swing celebrations.20

Medicinal Uses

Outside the realm of mixology, the guava is known for its health benefits. It was ranked in first place in the fruit category in terms of its “contribution to the diet of five nutrients: vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C, iron, potassium and calcium, and dietary fibre” by The Straits Times in 1994.21 Furthermore, guavas play an important role in traditional medicinal practices. Its leaves are edible and a “decoction of the young leaves [can be] drunk to treat stomachache” or “chewed and eaten to treat diarrhea”.22 Another use is treating “body odor and rough skin” by rubbing the young leaves on the body.23 The leaves are also used in herbal baths by the “Temuan Community in Taman Negara Gunung Ledang during their postnatal care” to “treat flatulence and freshen [the] body”.24 Since there are many medicinal uses for guava leaves, it was common in the day to see someone with a “bundle of guava tree twigs”.25

Guava Legends

Lastly, there are several traditional folklore stories about the guava fruit in Southeast Asia. One such tale is the ‘The Legend of the Guava’ from the Philippines which associates the origins of the guava tree to the death of a king. The story goes that once upon a time a greedy and cold-hearted king called Barabas ruled the country. Although he himself lived in prosperity and enjoyed all the foods imaginable, he neglected his kingdom and did not care for the suffering of his starving people. One day an old beggar lady (or an orphan boy according to different variations) asked King Barabas for something to eat. He refused to share any of his food and turned her away. Soon after he became very sick and died. No one mourned his death as he was despised by the people. After he was buried, a strange plant started growing from his grave. The tree bore fruits with crown-like shapes on top which reminded the people of their selfish king. The fruit was also sour at first, “just like the sour personality of the king towards them”.26 However, in time the fruit ripened and became sweet. As people learned to eat the fruit, it prevented their starvation. Because “the tree was from the grave of their King Barabas and it had a crown just like their king, they named the tree after him: barabas, which in time they called bayabas”.27 Guavas are still called bayabas in Tagalog and their origins are associated with this interesting tale.

As evidenced by the many examples of local cultural and culinary practices involving the guava, the plant has become ingrained in Southeast Asian cultures following its naturalization in the region. It has a rich history of communal uses and associations and continues to be of cultural importance.

References

  1. David Mead, “Types of jambu,” Sulang Language Data and Working Papers: Topics in Lexicography, no. 21 (2013): 10. ↩

  2. “Anderson’s Malayan Peninsula,” Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register, January 16, 1836, Page 1, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singchronicle18360116-1.2.2?ST=1&AT=search&k=jambu%20batu&SortBy=Oldest&filterS=0&Display=0&QT=jambu,batu&oref=article. ↩

  3. Aloysius De Leo Conceicao, “Story of Joo Chiat Changing Landscapes & Community,” interview by Zaleha Bte Osman, Oral History Centre, 1998, audio, https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/554b76ff-115e-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad?keywords=Story%20of%20Joo%20Chiat%20Changing%20Landscapes%20%26%20Community&keywords-type=all. ↩

  4. De Leo Conceicao, “Story of Joo Chiat Changing Landscapes & Community." ↩

  5. Kannan Madhavan, “Kannan MADHAVAN,” interview by Lulu Ong, Oral History Centre, December 28, 2019, audio, https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/1086dd77-39dc-11eb-85f4-005056a7c31c?keywords=guava&keywords-type=all ↩

  6. Chin Woon Ping, “A woman and the world,” The Straits Times, September 5, 1992, Page 18, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19920905-1.2.68.4.12?ST=1&AT=search&K=guava+kampong&P=2&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=guava,kampong&oref=article ↩

  7. Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan and Indrani Arunasalam Sathasivam Pillay, “The Malay Language ‘Pantun’ of Melaka Chetti Indians in Malaysia: Malay Worldview, Lived Experiences and Hybrid Identity,” International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies 8, no. 2, (2020): 17, doi:10.7575/aiac.ijclts.v.8n.2p.15. ↩

  8. “Mukim Number XVI-Bukit Timah, and Mukim Number IV-Ulu Pandan,” Singapore Survey Department, February 15, 1969, https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/maps_building_plans/record-details/fa5cb45c-115c-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad. ↩

  9. “Why the eternal banana?” Straits Times Annual, January 1, 1938, Page 16/17, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/stannual19380101-1.2.11?ST=1&AT=search&k=guava%20kampong&QT=guava,kampong&oref=article. ↩

  10. “Utilising Local Food-Stuffs,” Straits Echo (Mail Edition), August 22, 1917, Page 1241, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitsechomail19170822-1.2.41?ST=1&AT=search&k=guava%20kampong&QT=guava,kampong&oref=article. ↩

  11. Raymund, “Sinigang na Bayabas (Pork in Guava Soup),” Ang Sarap, May 1, 2020, https://www.angsarap.net/2011/05/20/sinigang-na-bayabas-pork-in-guava-soup/. ↩

  12. Nunuk Sri Rahayu, “Asinan Buah: Fruit Pickle Brine from Bogor,” Cook me Indonesian, August 22, 2020, https://www.cookmeindonesian.com/asinan-buah-fruit-pickle-brine-from-bogor/. ↩

  13. Rahayu, “Asinan Buah.” ↩

  14. Davina Goh, “NYONYA ROJAK (SAVOURY FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SALAD),” Davina Da Vegan, March 9, 2018, https://davinadavegan.com/rojak/#. ↩

  15. Atika Lim, “Fruit Rojak,” The Singapore Women’s Weekly, May 26, 2016, https://www.womensweekly.com.sg/recipe/food/asian-recipes/fruit-rojak/. ↩

  16. “Rojak,” Visit Singapore, https://www.visitsingapore.com/dining-drinks-singapore/local-dishes/rojak/. ↩

  17. Commentary from friend Isabelle Liew, February 18, 2023. ↩

  18. “Page 5 Advertisements Column 2,” New Nation, October 21, 1981, Page 5, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/newnation19811021-1.2.27.2?ST=1&AT=search&k=guava%20recipe&QT=guava,recipe&oref=article. ↩

  19. “Page 6 Advertisements Column 1,” The Straits Times, December 18, 1990, Page 6, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19901218-1.2.65.1?ST=1&AT=search&k=guava%20recipe&QT=guava,recipe&oref=article. ↩

  20. “Oh, for a cool, exotic drink!” The Straits Times, December 16, 1988, Page 2, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19881216-1.2.123.5.1?ST=1&AT=search&K=guava+recipe&P=2&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=guava,recipe&oref=article. ↩

  21. “Recipe for healthy eating,” The Straits Times, September 9, 1994, Page 4, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19940909-1.2.120.6.1?ST=1&AT=search&K=guava+recipe&P=3&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=guava,recipe&oref=article. ↩

  22. H.C. Ong and J. Norzalina, “Malay herbal medicine in Gemencheh, Negri Sembilan, Malaysia,” Fitoterapia 70, no. 1 (1999): 13, doi:10.1016/s0367-326x(98)00023-9. ↩

  23. H.C. Ong, B.N. Ruzalila, and P. Millow, “Traditional Knowledge of Medicinal Plants among the Malay Villagers in Kampung Mak Kemas, Terengganu, Malaysia,” Studies on Ethno-Medicine 5, no. 3 (2011): 183, doi:10.1080/09735070.2011.11886407. ↩

  24. N.A. Jahiman, F. Pa’ee1, N.A. Manan, and N.A. Md Salleh, “Development of herbal bag for herbal bath during postnatal care from Temuan traditional knowledge,” Earth and Environmental Science 736 (2021): 2, doi:10.1088/1755-1315/736/1/012027. ↩

  25. Tuan Djek, “Countryman’s Journal,” Straits Budget, January 22, 1958, Page 17, https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitsbudget19580122-1.2.96?ST=1&AT=search&k=guava%20kampong&QT=guava,kampong&oref=article. ↩

  26. Precy Anza, “Philippine Legend: The Legend of the Guava,” Owlcation, July 29, 2022, https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Philippine-Legend-The-Legend-Of-Guava#:~:text=The%20people%20learned%20to%20eat,as%20to%20this%20day%2C%20bayabas. ↩

  27. Anza, “Philippine Legend.” ↩