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Perad
Guava cheese
Perad: Goan guava cheese, ripe guava pulp cooked with sugar and lime until it sets firm enough to slice
Goan grandmothers make perad when the guava trees are full in winter, and it sits in a tin on the dresser all through Christmas, cut into dark pink squares for the kuswar plate. The name and the method come from the Portuguese goiabada: ripe guavas are cooked, sieved, then boiled down with sugar and lime juice for the best part of an hour until the paste is thick, glossy and comes away from the pan in one mass. Set in a tray, it slices cleanly and tastes intensely of guava, sweet and slightly tart, with a chewy, jelly-like bite. Eat it on its own, with a piece of cheese, or on bread. The common mistake is stopping too early: it looks thick in the pan but stays soft and sticky once cool. Test a little on a cold plate; it should hold its shape and peel off cleanly. Chef's tip: choose fragrant pink-fleshed guavas and add a couple of slightly under-ripe ones; they carry more pectin and help it set.
- Total time
- 95 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 20
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb ripe pink guavasabout 8, washed and quartered
- 2 cups water
- 1 ⅓ lb sugarroughly equal to the pulp by weight
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp neutral oilfor greasing
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 2 ¼ lb ripe pink guavas and 2 cups water in a heavy pan, cover and simmer over a medium heat for 15–20 minutes until very soft.
20 minStep 3: Put the pulp and sugar in a wide, heavy pan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add 2 tbsp lime juice and 1 pinch salt.
5 minStep 4: Cook, stirring often and more often as it thickens, for 40–50 minutes. It will bubble and spit, so use a long spoon. It is ready when it turns deep pink-brown, leaves the sides of the pan and a little set on a cold plate holds its shape.
50 minStep 5: Grease a 20 cm square tray with 1 tsp neutral oil and pour in the perad. Smooth the top and leave to set at room temperature for 6–8 hours or overnight.
5 minStep 6: Cut into squares and store in an airtight tin between sheets of baking paper. It keeps 2–3 months; discard if mould appears.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 140 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does perad take?
- About 95 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 20 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of lime juice?
- Lemon juice, same amount.
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