Feijoa - the real kiwi fruit

Forget Chinese gooseberries -- grown in China and renamed "kiwifruit" as a marketing exercise -- if you want an authentic taste of Kiwiana, come to NZ between March and June and feast yourself on feijoas (fe-jo-ahs).

Of course, if you believe Wikipedia, feijoas are native to South America,  and are usually referred to as "pineapple guavas" in the States, but this isn't about facts, it's about the subtle taste of "pineapple, apple and mint."  It's about cutting an egg-sized fruit and letting the soft, somewhat slimy flesh slip over your tongue.  It's about the strong, somewhat sour scent hitting your nasal passages.  In short, it's about acquiring a taste for them.  It's about going native.

Last year I found them a novelty, the kind of reaction that is neither good nor bad, but "interesting."  This year I find myself craving them, in large part because someone had the genius idea to put them in a pavlova.  Which, by the way, was actually invented in NZ (unless you believe Wikipedia).

Sadly, feijoas can't be picked early and artificially ripened, and they bruise easily, making them a poor candidate for shipping.  However, if you have a local source (I'm looking at you, California and South Carolina) I highly recommend you find yourself a few of these gems and trying them straight, put them in a smoothie or mix with yoghurt. Or just come to NZ and I'll make you a feijoa pavlova.