Feijoa News
This is the page where we will be posting news that is of interest to the NZ feijoa industry.
For more information contact us at feijoa@itm.org.nz
ITEMS
NZ FEIJOA ASSOCIATION AGM 2016
Napier 11 and 12 November 2016
The AGM is being held at the Crown Hotel Napier on the evening of 11 November. The next day there will be a field trip around the region, visiting a local orchard, hearing latest science news from South America, and also visiting local attractions. Further detail from the links below:
Field Day Links:
Feijoas in the News
The NZ Feijoa Growers Association monitors feijoa news. Click here to access our database of printed media and internet news, stories or feijoa articles. The list includes links to online pages where available
DESIGN YOUR OWN SHOCHU
new bespoke flavour offering
Choosing your own flavour is more commonly associated with ice cream stands. But now leading Japanese Robata Restaurant MASU in Auckland is taking flavour choice to its shochu bar.
Shochu is a traditional Japanese distilled spirit and MASU diners are being offered the opportunity to design their own custom blend of the famous Japanese liquor.
Current fruit infusions on the MASU menu by the glass are tamarillo, strawberry, feijoa, mandarin, date, coffee, cocoa, and dried apricot but any number of fruits and vegetables can form a tasty aroma and flavour profile.
Click herefor the full on-line story.
2014 New Zealand Ice Cream Awards
Feijoa wins Sorbet Best in Category
The 18th New Zealand Ice Cream Awards were announced 22nd of May, at the Awards Dinner held in conjunction with The New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers’ Association’s Annual Conference in Blenheim.
Flavours of English Toffee and Maple Walnut reign Supreme in the 18th year of the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards.
This year there was a total of 302 entries, with increasing participation by smaller gelato and boutique ice cream producers. 32 companies and individuals entered products.
The winner of the Sorbet Best in Category was Carrello del Gelato with their Feijoa Sorbet.
Click herefor the full on-line story.
Kai with Soul
Feijoa wins Sorbet Best in Category
Spotswood College's Food and Nutrition classes teaches students that the key to cooking great- tasting, nutritious meals day after day is to keep it simple. In Kai with Soul, Katy and her students let you in on how easy cooking for a family can be.
Feijoa and apple shortcake is an Easter treat from the classes, using deliciously fragrant, tasty and seasonal feijoas, apples and lemons.
The students really enjoyed the taste of the feijoa shortcake and, for most, it was a new taste sensation. It is definitely a versatile recipe because you can use many different types of fruit. It can be served as a cake or a dessert, is quick and simple to make, and tastes delicious.
Click herefor the full story, and the recipe.
Feijoa part of incentive to get young people to vote
Youth vote campaigners RockEnrol, have launched a competition for 18-30 year-olds, urging them to vote.
RockEnrol is a non-partisan campaign using popular culture to make politics less boring. Flats, whanau and groups of friends are asked to sign up to the competition which involves encouraging peers to enrol and pledge to vote in the 2014 election.
At the end of 10 days the team with the most enrolments and pledges wins. The prize package includes feijoa wine, along with a fully catered house party, an appearance by Tiki Taane, professional videography and a clean up crew.
Click herefor the full on-line story.
Feijoas feature in Royal Feast
Feijoa desert for Prince William and Princess Catherine
Ruth Pretty said "I simply adored the dessert tasting plate we made for Prince William and Princess Catherine when they visited New Zealand.
A swirled passionfruit pavlova was the jewel, luxuriously finished with vanilla whipped cream and passionfruit honey. Sponge-like gingerbread rolled with creamy cinnamon filling stood proud as scrolls.
Diced feijoa, just in season at that time, combined with ginger in syrup and sliced mint cut the sweetness. A sprinkle of crushed dark-chocolate-coated hokey-pokey finished the plate".
Click herefor the story. - and recipes
NZ FEIJOA ASSOCIATION AGM 2013
Pukekohe 8 and 9 November 2013
Pencil in 8 and 9 November for the NZFGA AGM in 2013. The programme is being finalised now, and futher information will be out shortly
NZ FEIJOA ASSOCIATION AGM 2012
Tauranga 26 and 27 October
The NZ Feijoa Growers Association is holding its 2012 AGM with invited speakers, at the Armitage Hotel on Friday 26 October, followed by a field day on 27 October. The field day will be visiting local orchards, ending with a dinner that evening.
The Association has been developing its strategic plan, and there will be opportunity to discuss how this plan is put into action. In particular will be the proposal that the feijoa industry be recognised under the NZ Horticulture Authority, to bring further discipline into exporting.
Members can download registration forms from the members area here. Please email the association at info@feijoa.org.nz
Feijoa Association Press Releases
To raise our profile in the media, the NZ Feijoa Growers Association has written press releases during the past few seasons and circulted these to media in New Zealand and Australia. These press releases contain topical news but are also a good source for feijoa recipes.
They are available from the Promotions page, you can go straight there using this link.
Feijoa Association Radio Advertising
The association has run radio promotions during the last two seasons win conjunction with a competition on Classic Hits. Old Moult Cider has provided prizes.
The intent of these promotions is to lift the profile of Feijoas in New Zealand, and to create demand when the flush comes on. To listen to some of the sound tracks from 2011, please click on this link, to hear the advert, and also click on this link for the announcement to ring in for the competition.
ACC Levy Rate
There is a proposed review of ACC levy rates, which will see an increase in the rates paid by the horticulture sector.
Horticulture NZ has made a submission on behalf of all affiliated industries, and you can read their submission (pdf file) from this link .
Food Bill Submission
NZFGA has made a written submission on the Food Bill which is currently before Parliament, because we are very concerned that the failure to recognise NZGAP (or GlobalGap), which will result in significant and unnecesary duplication o compliance cost. This was despite assurances received from the Minister of Food Safety, other Ministers and NZ Food Safety Authority officials that NZGAP would be recognised as a National Programme. The submission draws heavily on that written by Horticulture NZ.
The full submission is available from this link.
Feijoas are back - and they're great for your health.
This is the second press release from the NZ Feijoa Growers Association for 2010
Feijoas are back - and they're great for your health. These little green fruit have scored so highly in trials for health benefits there's talk of them joining the elite ranks of 'superfruit.' And as we enjoy this year's harvest, there's growing interest in the research community to explore the health benefits of feijoa further, says the president of the New Zealand Feijoas Growers Association, Tim Harper.
Feijoas are very versatile and available from now until early winter. There are lots of ways to enjoy them in the last of summer days and in early autumn.
| Sweet and Sour Fish | |
| 500g skinned and boned firm fish fillets | oil for frying |
| 2Tsp dry sherry | ½ cup cornflour |
| 1tsp salt | |
| Sauce | |
| 1 tb grated root ginger | |
| 2 spring onions,cliced | |
| 2 cloves garlic crushed | |
| 3 Tb each white vinegar,tomato sauce, orange juice, sugasr, 1 tb dry sherry | |
| 1 cup peeled and diced feijoas | |
| 1 tsp cornflour | |
Cut the fish into four cm chunks. Season with salt and sherry then toss in cornflour.
Heat oil for deep frying then fry fish in batches until golden. Drain on absorbent paper and keep warm. In a clean pan, heat 2 - 3 tbs of frying oil and stir fy the ginger , onions, garlic for about 30 secs. Add all the sauce ingredients except the cornflour.
Mix the cornflour into a paste with a little water then stir into the sauce, cooking until thickened. Serve over the fish.
| Feijoa Salsa | |
| 3 feijoas | 1 tbs brown sugar |
| 1 onion | freshly ground black pepper |
Chop into small pieces and mix together or puree. Serve with steak, chicken or fish or use as a dip.
*Add 1 tbs of chopped fresh coriander for a different twist on this salsa.
| Feijoa date cake | |
| 100g of butter, softened | 1 cup chopped dates |
| ¾ cup sugar | ¾ cup mashed feijoas |
| 1 egg | 2 tbs milk |
| 1 ½ cups flour | 1 tsp baking powder |
| 1 tsp baking soda | |
| lemon icing to ice | lemon zest to garnish |
Pre-heat over to 180 deg C. Grease an 18cm square tin. Line the base with baking paper.
Beat together butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in egg. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Fold into creamed mixture.
Stir in dates, feijoas and milk. Spoon mixture into prepared tin. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer insterted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave cake in tin for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool. When cool ice with lemon icing and garnish with lemon zest.
| Feijoa Mousse with Nougat | |
| 1/3 cup sugar | ¼ cup water |
| 2 tsp gelatin | 600g feijoas |
| 360g ricotta | 180g nougat |
In a small pot combine the sugar and water and place over low heat stirring until dissolved. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Set aside to cool.
In a food processor puree the feijoas, add the gelatin mixture and the ricotta and process briefly or stir to blend. Pour the mixture into individual glasses and refrigerate for at least six hours. Crumble the nougat in a food processor (or chop by hand into small pieces) and sprinkle over the mousse and serve.
Feijoa Facts:
- Feijoas are good for you! They are high in anti-oxidants, high in minerals and fibre, a great source of vitamin C and they are low in calories.
- Feijoas are ripe when slightly soft and when the jellied sections of a freshly cut fruit are clear. If the jellied sections are white the fruit is not ripe to eat; if its greyish or brown, the feijoa is past its best.
- Ripe feijoas, unless refrigerated, only retain a good flavour for two or three days. Brown blotches or yellowing skin are a sign the feijoas are well past their best.
- When buying feijoas put them in the fridge or eat them as soon as possible. Very firm fruit may need two or three days in the fruit bowl to fully ripen. Hard fruit will probably never ripen.
- Fruit touch-picked from the tree have better keeping and eating qualities than fruit gathered from the ground.
- http://www.foodmag.com.au/Article/Fruitful-crops-expected/469464.aspx
- http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=39264
- http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00036.htm
- Feijoas are good for you! They are high in anti-oxidants, high in minerals and fibre, a great source of vitamin C and they are low in calories.
- Feijoas are ripe when slightly soft and when the jellied sections of a freshly cut fruit are clear. If the jellied sections are white the fruit is not ripe to eat; if its greyish or brown, the feijoa is past its best.
- Ripe feijoas, unless refrigerated, only retain a good flavour for two or three days. Brown blotches or yellowing skin are a sign the feijoas are well past their best.
- When buying feijoas put them in the fridge or eat them as soon as possible. Very firm fruit may need two or three days in the fruit bowl to fully ripen. Hard fruit will probably never ripen.
- Fruit touch-picked from the tree have better keeping and eating qualities than fruit gathered from the ground.
Feijoa may be 'superfruit' say scientists.
This is the first press release from the NZ Feijoa Growers Association for 2010
Feijoa could be promoted to the elite ranks of 'superfruit' if proposed scientific trials prove the fruit to have exceptional health promoting qualities. A high score on health benefits has attracted international interest in the properties of the fruit.
Although a recent application to government for research funding has been turned down, there is strong interest among the research fraternity to explore prospects for further trialing, says the preisdent of the New Zealand Feijoas Growers Association, Tim Harper.
The research for which government funding was sought, proposed human clinical trials at a university in California of compounds extracted from Feijoas. The proposed trials would target potential benefits for high blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar levels - health conditions that are prevalent world wide.
"The feijoa industry is too small to fund research on this scale but nevertheless there are exciting possibilities and there is significant interest in exploring what could be an outstanding opportunity for this fruit," says Mr Harper.
The feijoa has already been scoring very well in the growing trend for scientific research to show that eating certain fruits can benefit health. In recent research, extracts from feijoas have been found to contain comparatively high levels of the compounds that enhance anti-inflamatory and anti-oxidant activity. They also have high levels of Vitamin C, minerals and fibre.
In one measure of anti-oxidant activity, Plant & Food Research ranked feijoas just over mid-way in comparison with other popular fruit, confirming the potential for the fruit as a functional food ingredient.
The first fruit of the season is expected to be ready by mid March although the drought conditions in Northland could result in a lack of the early, large fruit consumers enjoyed last season, says Mr Harper. The southern crop could be later due to the bitterly cold winter but he says the industry is hoping these factors won't lead to a shortage of fruit this season.
Organic Feijoas
The NZ Feijoa Growers Association now has an organics group, to further the interests of members who grow organic feijoas. To learn more about this group, please click here.
Feijoa News on the web
The links here will take you to stories that we have fond on the web, to do with NZ feijoas. Know of some that we have missed? - please let us know at info@feijoa.org.nz
NZFGA Press Release: Feijoa Recipes
MEDIA RELEASE 25.3.09
Feijoa facts and recipes | |
|
| |
| Feijoa salad: | |
 |
Peel and slice feijoas into green salad to add zest and let the juices replace the need for a salad dressing. It's a touch exotic and very easy and delicious with meats and fish. |
| Feijoa Salsa | |
| 3 feijoas | 1tbs brown sugar |
| 1 onion | freshly ground black pepper |
 |
Chop into small pieces and mix together or puree. Serve with steak, chicken or fish or use as a dip with corn chips. |
| Baked Feijoa Pudding | |
| 4-5 feijoas | 1 lemon |
| sponge: | |
| 1 cup flour | 1 egg |
| 1tsp baking powder | 3-4 tbsp milk |
| salt (pinch) | |
| 50 g butter | half cup sugar |
| Wash and peel feijoas. Cut into thick slices. Place on the base of a 3 and half cup ovenware dish. Grate the lemon rind and squeeze the juice from the lemon. Sprinkle these over the feijoas. | |
| Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until white and fluffy. Beat in the egg well, Carefully fold in the dry ingredients. Add a little milk to make a soft dropping consistency. | |
| Spoon the mixture evenly over feijoas. Bake at 180 deg C for 45 mins or until the sponge is firm to the touch. Serve hot. | |
| Serves 4 | |
| Feijoa Upside Down Pudding | |
| Topping: | |
| 25 g butter | |
| half cup brown sugar | |
| 3-4 feijoas | |
| Cream butter and sugar. Spread evenly into a 20cm round cake tim. Peel and slice feijoas in half, lengthwise. Arrange on top of butter mixture with cut surface down. | |
| Cake: | |
| 1 Tbs vinegar | 50gms butter |
| half cup milk | half cup brown sugar |
| 1 cup flour | qtr cup treacle |
| half tsp baking soda | 1 egg |
| qtr tsp salt | |
| 2tsp cinnamon | |
| 1 tsp ground ginger | |
| qtr tsp grated nutmeg | |
| pinch cloves | |
| Mix vinegar and milk together. Allow to stand for 15 mins until milk sours. | |
| Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, grated nutmeg and cloves together. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add treacle and egg and beat well. | |
| Fold in dry ingredients alternately with soured milk. Beat about 1 minute until smooth. Poor over the top of fruit. | |
| Bake at 180 deg C for 50 - 60 mins, or until set to touch.Turn out onto serving dish and serve with cream. | |
| Feijoa Cream | |
| 3-4 feijoas | |
| 225 g plain yoghurt | |
| 4tbs skim milk powder | |
| 1-2 Tb clear honey | |
| chopped walnuts | |
| Peel feijoas and press through sieve. Place all incredients except walnuts in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and chill until set. Serve with chopped walnuts sprinkled on top. | |
| Iced Feijoa Mousse | |
| 4 egg yolks | qtr cup apple and orange juice |
| 1 cup sugar | 2 tbs orange juice |
| 2 tbs water | 1kg ripe feijoas |
| 300 ml cream | |
| Beat egg yolks with sugar and water and juice. Whisk constantly over gently simmering water until slightly thickened. Put bowl in cold water and continute whisking until cool. | |
| Pulp raw peeled feijoas. Beat into egg yolk mixture. Whip cream and fold in. Pour into 2 litre container. Cover and freeze. | |
| Serves 6 - 8 | |
| Feijoa Sorbet | |
| 1 and half cups water | |
| half to qtr cup sugar | |
| 2 tbs lemon juice | |
| three qtrs cup pulped feijoa | |
| Boil the water and sugar together for 5 minutes. Cool. Add the lemon juice and pulped feijoas. Pour into a freezing tray. Freeze until firm. Turn into a chilled bowl. Beat with a rotary beater until light; work very quickly to avoid melting. Return to the freezing tray. Freeze without stirring, until very firm. Serve in chilled individual dishes. | |
| Serves 4-6 | |
Contact Helen Vause for further information or for photos 0210 698 703
NZFGA Press Release: Feijoa Season
MEDIA RELEASE 1.3.09
A bumper crop with high marks for health benefits
Feijoa growers are expecting a very high quality crop of fruit in near optimum condition as a result of the very warm summer. Feijoas are expected to be on sale by mid-March and available until early June this year.
Hot, dry weather is ideal for the production of a high quality crop and fruit quality for the season is looking very good, says the president of the New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association, Tim Harper. But it's the world leading growing systems used by professional growers that will have played a key role in ensuring large, good quality fruit, he says and New Zealanders can't necessarily expect to get comparable feijoas from the trees in their own back yards as a result of the warmer summer.
Not only is a good crop expected but the feijoa has been scoring very well in the analysis of its health benefits. In the growing trend for scientifc research to demonstrate that eating fruits can reduce the incidence of chronic diseases including cancers, heart disease and stroke - the feijoa has given promising results. In recent years research teams around the world have found extracts from the fruit to contain comparatively high levels of the compounds that enhance anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity.
In one measure of antioxidant activity, the Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand (HortResearch) ranked feijoas just over mid-way in comparision with other popular fruit, confirming the potential for the fruit as a functional food ingredient.
The antioxidant actitity of the fruit is based on their relatively high content of compounds known as proanthocynanins - a class of polyphenolics that are widely promoted for their health enhancing properties. The proanthocyanins have also been reported to reduce inflammation.
Based on their trials to date, scientific researchers agree there is evidence to support the use of proanthocyanin-based foods and dietary supplements as effective antio-xidants. Although a high concentration of this compound usually makes for a bitter and astringent taste, it's fortunate that they don't impact on the flavour of feijoas.
Feijoas also have high levels of Vitamin C, and are high in minerals and fibre. Since an average feijoa contains around 9mg of vitamin C, just three a day will provide over half the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.
Although intensive research into this fruit is relatively recent says, Tim Harper from the growers association, the feijoa can justify its position as one of the healthiest fruits readily available to all New Zealanders. He says confirmation of more good news on the benefits of the fruit and its extracts is expected to emerge soon from ongoing research.
For more information contact
Helen Vause, communications consultant: 0210 698 703
Tim Harper, President New Zealand Feijoa Growers Association 021 899 666
Photographs available on request.
