One of the Virgin Islands’ most prized holiday treats are guavaberries. These blueberry-sized fruits are found during the wintertime budding from the slender, dark-green oval leaves of the guavaberry tree. These trees thrive in cool temperatures and rich soil, and can be easily found in the hills of Bordeaux. The fragile pink and white flowers of the guavaberry tree bloom in the rainy season, and weeks later the small, firm, green fruits become apparent among the canopy. Over the next few weeks the fruits will ripen into either a bright orange or a deep purple. The fruit has a distinct aromatic tang that is unlike any other. And once you get a taste of this fruit, it will be hard to forget it.

Traditionally, guavaberries have been harvested to produce local holiday delicacies like guavaberry rum, which is curated by aging the berries in alcohol, sugar, and a mixture of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla bean. The berries are also stewed--and, no, I do not mean stew in the sense of a soup, but rather stewed as in cooked with a mixture of sugar and spices until the berries form a thick candy-like texture. Stewed guavaberries can then be spread on bread or used as a filling for tarts.

If your vacation to the Virgin Islands is during the winter, take a look around the trees; maybe you’ll find some of the berries hanging from the low lying branches, waiting to be plucked. But don’t be too upset if you aren’t able to find any on the trees. You’re bound to find them in one way or another, whether it be in local tarts and jellies or in guavaberry rum, which you can try out at Bajo el Sol’s “Rum Room” in Mongoose Junction. But let me make this clear: don’t be fooled by how easily guavaberry rum glides over your tongue; I warn you, it still packs a punch!