Goiabada com queijo (Romeu e Julieta)
A dense, sweet and slightly tart guava paste, sliced and placed on salty fresh cheese. The most beloved sweet-savory contrast in Brazil.
A dense, sweet and slightly tart guava paste, sliced and placed on salty fresh cheese. The most beloved sweet-savory contrast in Brazil.
That's how we ended the meal, on the fazenda and in the city: a slice of firm goiabada placed on fresh cheese. We call it Romeo and Juliet, because the two never leave each other. In the old days, we cooked the guava for hours in large copper cauldrons to keep it all winter — nothing was wasted. The sugar of the paste and the salt of the cheese, that's the whole art: one cannot go without the other. A true dessert from home, without fuss.
- •Ripe guavas — a full basket (base fruit)
- •Sugar — equal weight to pulp (preservation and binder)
- •Fresh Minas cheese — one wheel (salty pairing)
Goiabada com queijo (Romeu e Julieta)
A dense, sweet and slightly tart guava paste, sliced and placed on salty fresh cheese. The most beloved sweet-savory contrast in Brazil.
Why this dish? Guava paste, preserved for months, served with a slice of fresh Minas cheese: it is the national Mineiro dessert, the 'Romeo and Juliet' of family meal endings that Dilma knew.
That's how we ended the meal, on the fazenda and in the city: a slice of firm goiabada placed on fresh cheese. We call it Romeo and Juliet, because the two never leave each other. In the old days, we cooked the guava for hours in large copper cauldrons to keep it all winter — nothing was wasted. The sugar of the paste and the salt of the cheese, that's the whole art: one cannot go without the other. A true dessert from home, without fuss.
Ingredients (period version)
- Ripe guavas — a full basket (base fruit)
- Sugar — equal weight to pulp (preservation and binder)
- Fresh Minas cheese — one wheel (salty pairing)
Ingredients
- Ripe guavas (or guava pulp) — 1 kg (base fruit)
- Sugar — 600 to 800 g (preservation and binder)
- Lemon juice — 1 tablespoon (balance and setting)
- Fresh Minas cheese (or firm ricotta / salted fresh cheese) — 200 g (salty pairing)
Method
- Peel and seed the guavas, cook the pulp with a little water until tender, then pass through a sieve.
- Weigh the pulp and add nearly equal weight of sugar, plus lemon juice.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the paste pulls away from the bottom and becomes very thick (30 to 45 min).
- Pour into a lined mold and let set for several hours, ideally overnight.
- Unmold, slice the firm paste and serve on slices of fresh cheese.
- Store leftover paste wrapped in the fridge: it keeps for a long time.
How it was made : Goiabada is the direct heir of Portuguese marmelada (quince paste), adapted to American guava from colonial times. It was a preservation technique: transforming abundant, fragile fruit into a sweet reserve for lean months.
The contemporary twist : In a chic version, it is served as glazed cubes on a crumble, or as a warm coulis on fresh cheese ice cream, playing hot-cold.
Dilma Rousseff · Charactorium
