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Guaba Fruit: Ecuador’s Delicious Ice Cream Bean

A little while ago, I discovered a very interesting fruit called guaba. It is very common at markets and can be seen on trees in the outskirts of Cuenca. Because of it’s slight vanilla flavor, guaba is also known as the: ice cream bean.

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What The “Ice Cream Bean” Looks Like

It is green on the outside and shaped like a bean but fatter. On the inside there are little black seeds with a white, cottony coating, that is a nice treat.

It tastes sweet (not too sweet) with a hint of vanilla. When you first put it in your mouth, it is very fuzzy, but as it gets wet it gets very slippery. Then you have to try to scrap the white stuff off with your teeth.

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Here are some more of my favorite Ecuador fruits.

It smells like rhubarb to me. Mom said she thought is smelled like green strawberries. It is divided into sections on the inside. These can easily be separated and shared with a group of friends.

Read more about other traditional Ecuador food.

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Let me tell you something very interesting about the little black seeds found inside.

Strange Little Black Seeds

One day we were at the Feria Libre (in Cuenca) buying our groceries. At one of the booths mom picked up this strange fruit – that we later learned was guaba – and the lady selling it cracked it open and asked mom to try some, to see if we would like to buy it.

Since we had no idea what it was or how to eat it, mom just took out one of the little sections, popped it in her mouth and chewed it up. Big mistake.

After that, the lady told mom that she wasn’t supposed to eat the seed. And that she was only supposed to eat the white, cottony coating.

Mom said the seed tasted very spicy, not the good spicy, the bad spicy. She spit it out right away.

But not a half-hour later she was dizzy and light-headed, and she couldn’t think straight. We were all pretty worried.

What now?

Well, don’t worry too much. Mom was fine. Me and dad went into a modern grocery store called Super Maxi and bought her some bread while she waited outside on a bench.

After she had the bread she said she was feeling much better. Now I can’t walk by that Super Maxi without thinking about that.

So now whenever we eat the fruit we are very, very careful not to eat the seeds. We don’t know if they have something bad in them or if mom was just allergic to them. But nobody eats the seeds! Fortunately, I can tell if I’ve bitten the seed because it is very spicy!!! So as soon as I taste that, I spit it out right away!

So anyway, it is a nice fruit to have for a snack, just don’t eat the seeds!!!!!!!

I hope you will try this strange, interesting (and cheap) fruit for yourself! Happy travels!

Want to read about more great unique things to eat in Ecuador? Check out more of my posts here. There you will find great Ecuador treats, cool photos, and my view of living in Ecuador for kids.

David and Lin Schneider

Sunday 8th of January 2023

I was born in Peru of US parents and have two passports :) , dual citizenship. With my wife and daughter, we have lived in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. We have enjoyed Guava over the years. However, we don't recall eating the seeds (maybe just didn't recognize them cooked). It's interesting to note that in Hawaii, where we also live for 8 years, Guayabas are called guavas. I'm not sure if that is Filipino derived or what. Thanks for this article!

David and Lin Schneider Cesar and Kelsey Mendizabal

Ilona

Thursday 5th of May 2016

Just tried this the first time in Peru, it tasted amazing. Does anybody know about the nutrients?

gusti

Wednesday 16th of December 2015

I.m from bali . n really l don.t know ice cream beans. I have taste already that because of my australians friend

Philipp Schilcher

Saturday 20th of June 2015

I'd love to try those some day. I just have to remember the name. It sounds a bit like guave.

Marjorie Hovey

Wednesday 17th of September 2014

I'm a year late with this comment but I was just looking through your website. We have this fruit in Hawaii, too. I agree, it is very interesting and kind of fun to eat. I enjoy your post. Hope I get to meet you and your family when we visit Cuenca next Feb.