The koejavel, pronounced koo-yar-vel, is the
Afrikaans word for a fruit available in
South Africa. It greatly resembles the
guava - it is a round,
fleshy fruit with pink flesh colouring, and large, yellow seeds much like a
mango. The koejavel is a seasonal fruit, availability ranges from May to August, with the juciest, sweetest and tastiest fresh fruits available in June.
In South Africa, the most popular manufacturer of pre-packaged koejavels is Koo brand, where they sell the fruit in syrup, specifically cane sugar syrup. Recently, Koo stopped marketing all products in their Afrikaans names, reducing the koejavel to just humble "guava halves".
The traditional packaged fruit tin can in South Africa is a little larger than other countries, weighing in at 410 grams, and like most Koo brand fruit products, is generally packaged in the central packing plant in Paarl, a small town 60 kilometres north west of Cape Town, right in the heart of the fertile wine growing region of The Cape. The shelf life for koejavels is around 18 months.
Koejavels fresh taste like a cross between mango and guava - smooth, silky flesh with a refreshing bite and crisp taste - recommended fresh, they lose a lot when packaged, reduced to the taste of the cane sugar syrup and a bare hint of the original flavour.
Information from:
95% - my childhood, with a little confirmation from my parents
3% - a tin brought over by a workmate from her trip to ZA
1% - (fact checking) http://www.places.co.za/html/paarl.html
1% - (fact checking) http://www.koo.co.za/frames/default.html