Perad Sweet- Guava Cheese/Goan Christmas Recipe

How is the Christmas planning coming along for everyone? It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Are you in the holiday spirit? It is almost Christmas, and today I, am sharing a Christmas favorite from Goa. Perad is delightfully chewy, fudgy fruit candies that are so addictive. Guava is a tropical fruit with an inviting fruity flavor. If you are planning, DIY Christmas food gifts for friends and family, guava cheese will be a nice addition to the holiday gift basket. Perad/Guava Cheese tastes delicious on its own, but there are so many other ways you can use this delicacy. Read on for entertaining ideas this Christmas with Guava cheese. It is made with just a handful of ingredients, looks festive, with fruity flavor in each bite.

What is Guava cheese/Perad?
Perad/ Guava cheese is a fudge-like sweet made with guavas and sugar with a touch of lemon. Like jam or preserve guava cheese has a long shelf life. It is a very traditional recipe and one popular, sought-after Kuswar delicacy in Goa. Kuswar is a term used to refer to Christmas goodies of the Goan Catholic community. It is an exchange of assorted snacks and sweet trays with family, friends, and neighbors on Christmas day. Guava cheese is known Goia-bada in Portuguese. In the US, guava cheese/paste is sold, in supermarkets, as Guayabate. This dessert is a popular treat in the Latin American countries, Caribbean, Trinidad, Guyana, and Spain. Its origin is from Portuguese quinces cheese/ paste, and in Portuguese colonies, quince fruit got replaced with guava. It is not surprising to find this sweet treat in India. Goa was a Portuguese colony. The cultural and culinary traditions of Goa have a Portuguese influence.

How to use Guava Cheese/ Perad?
Perad/Guava Cheese is sliced and served like any sweet or halwa. This fudge-like confectionery with the fruity flavor of guava. But there are so many other ways you can use this delicacy. It is like a jam that you can thinly slice or cut into cubes. It tastes delicious on toasts or as a filling-in sandwich. Make a delicious, melty cheese sandwich with toasted bread, butter, cheese, and a thin slice of guava cheese.
It is a delicious appetizer and tastes yummy when paired with cheese. Cut same-size small squares of cheese and guava paste and serve on crackers.
It is a sweet and fruity filling for puff pastries. Pastelitos or sweet turnovers taste delicious with sweet guava cheese. Guava paste cream cheese Danish with puff pastry is a perfect sweet treat for any occasion.
To make guava cheese pie or guava cheesecake, pour the guava cheese into pie shells before it starts setting or solidifying.
Guava cheese can also be a filling for cookies and shortbread cookies. Mantecaditos, Puerto Rican Guava Thumbprint Cookies is a must try. Mantecaditos are buttery and delicious with almond flavor.

Mantecaditos, Puerto Rican Guava Thumbprint Cookies

There are only a few ingredients that you need to make Guava cheese. Guava puree, sugar, lemon juice & butter is all that you need for this recipe. Here’s an easy step-by-step recipe to make this Christmas treat!

Perad Sweet- Guava Cheese/Goan Christmas Recipe

Ingredients

Guava puree- 1 1/2 cup
Sugar- 1 cup
(best ratio of sugar and guava paste is 1:1)
Lemon juice- 1/2 lemon
Butter- 2 tbs
Pink or red edible food color- 2 drops (optional)

The first step is to make a guava puree. Cut the guava into small cubes. You can either cook the guava with a half cup of water or blanch it. I used the steaming method. Cut the guava into quarters and steam for 12 to 15 minutes or till it is fork-tender. Scoop out the seed part and add 1/2 cup of water to it. Boil for five minutes and sieve to remove the seeds. Transfer the rest of the guava into a blender and make a puree. For an extra silky smooth texture, use a fine-mesh strainer. Strain the puree and weigh out the total pulp. Ideally, it is best to use a 1:1 ratio of guava puree, and sugar.

Heat a heavy bottom pan, and add the puree, sugar, and lemon juice. Use a whisk to blend everything properly. Place on the stove and stir. As the mixture warms up, it will start thickening after 10-12 minutes of stirring. If you like to add food coloring, add at this stage. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or till the mixture turns to a soft dough consistency. At this stage, add butter to prevent it from sticking. The mixture will start leaving the edges of the pan. To check the candy consistency, take a bowl of cold water. Drop half tsp of the cooked guava mixture into cold water. It should not disintegrate, and you can form a smooth ball from it, which means the consistency is perfect.
Take a greased plate or tray and spread this mixture evenly (use the backside of a spoon to make it smooth). Allow this to sit overnight and then cut into desired shapes and serve. Store the leftover in an airtight container or refrigerate it and use it as needed.