SOURCE: 1News
Feijoa season is a time of glut when Kiwis share the joy of an imported fruit that does so well in our soil. But why do we love the feijoa so much? That’s the question one author set out to answer.
It’s hard to tell if Kate Evans is playing up to the title “crazy feijoa lady of Raglan”.
Sure, she’s got the feijoa print top and brightly coloured feijoa earrings, but over the years, this freelance writer has penned articles on all sorts of flora and fauna for some of the world’s top magazines.
But get her talking, and it becomes clear she’s gone down the feijoa rabbit hole.
“I’m not sure if I could have done the same book about a tamarillo or any other fruit. I think the feijoa was particularly rich in stories and interesting convergences,” Evans said.
“You end up finding all of these fascinating stories and people. People who share a love for something, even though they might live in completely different parts of the world and have totally different cultures.”
Evans has worked on her book, Feijoa: A Story of Obsession and Belonging, for 10 years. The book is her ode to a fruit embedded in her identity from an early age.
“Scent-based memories are more likely to form earlier in life, like in childhood,” she said.
For 12 years, her work took her around the world. It was a time when she was separated from her beloved feijoa. But a long-awaited reunion sowed the seeds of a project.
“It was this kind of powerful nostalgic moment,” she said.
Why was an imported fruit that wasn’t found in New Zealand a century ago a symbol of Aotearoa? And so the journey began.
“I just got curious and started looking into its history.”
From the Southern states of Brazil to the Feijoa festival of Columbia, Evans travelled the world, meeting people who have grown alongside this fruit.
“In this kind of forest in Brazil, they took me to an archaeological site where there were the remains of these pit houses where people had lived 1000 years ago.
“All around were like heaps and heaps of feijoa trees. Some of them were even kind of in lines.”
She’s slowly become a walking bible of feijoa trivia with each interaction. Ask her about the distinctive feijoa aroma, and she’ll tell you: “The main one is methyl benzoate.”
She added: “It’s quite a rare compound, mainly in feijoas. It’s in this special orchid in the Brazilian rainforest. And apparently, when cocaine decomposes, it can also give off the smell.”
Want to know her favourite variety? She’s tried feijoas that you can’t even buy.
“The best ones I’ve tasted are ones not on the commercial market, and Nigel Ritson is growing in Takaka right now. He is on the hunt for the perfect feijoa or the feijoa of the future.”
Although the humble feijoa crumble is still her go-to recipe, Evans’ experienced dishes elevate the “pineapple guava” to new heights.
“In some of the places in South America, they make quite a lot of savoury things,” she said.
“Trout with feijoa and pork with feijoa. And in Uruguay, a chef I stayed with has a beautiful feijoa ceviche recipe.”
Evans found that most of the world knows nothing of this little green fruit. But three countries in particular love it: Colombia, Georgia, and New Zealand — three countries on opposite ends of the planet with very little in common who have all embraced the feijoa.
Evans’ knowledge of the feijoa is now gathered in her book. It’s the first time someone has told the story of the fruit and the people who have made it the icon it is today.
Asked if she had answered the question about why Kiwis love the fruit so much, Evans was philosophical.
“We have the sort of egalitarian national myth, so when something doesn’t store well and you’ve got heaps of it, the one thing you can do with it is give it away.”
She says the fruit symbolises the art of giving – whether in a box on the driveway or a bag in the lunch room.
“We love the idea of getting something for free and giving something. Something that can mix you with the people around you.”
There is another, rather more ancient, reason she thinks we may have a deep connection with the feijoa — but you’ll need to read the final paragraphs of her book to find that out.