16 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF SOME TEOPICAL FRUITS. 



Two samples of preserves were examined, -a tamarind paste and 

 a pulp, having almost the same composition, as is shown in Table II. 

 These products are evidently made by mechanically mixing granulated 

 sugar and tamarind pulp, as it would hardly be possible to evaporate 

 the mixture to the density of the samples without more inversion of 

 cane sugar than is shown. An average of the results obtained on the 

 samples of fruit analyzed shows these pastes to be composed of about 

 20 per cent of pulp and 80 per cent of sugar. They are used for the 

 same purposes as the fresh fruit when the latter is out of season, 

 and have a sweet acid taste. The pastes are put up in 1-pound pack- 

 ages, with an inner wrapper of oiled paper or tinfoil and an outer one 

 of coarse brown paper. 



GUAVA (GUAYABA). 



(Psidium guajava. ) 



There are several varieties of guava growing wild in all parts of 

 Cuba, and this fruit is also grown in California and Florida. The 

 guava is not eaten raw, but the finest jellies, pastes, etc., are made 

 from it. Besides the two varieties analyzed, the white and the pear- 

 shaped, there is a third sometimes used for making low-grade pastes, 

 when the dark color is not objectionable. This variety is similar to 

 the white guava, but has a colored pulp. 



The white guava (guayaba blanca) is a small, round fruit, grayish- 

 white or yellow in color and averaging about 45 grams (1.5 ounces) in 

 weight. The pear-shaped fruit (guayaba de Peru) is about twice the 

 size of the white variet} 7 , but closely resembles it in odor, color, and 

 flavor. Both varieties contain large numbers of small, hard seeds 

 scattered throughout the yellowish-white pulp, and have the acid taste 

 and peculiar odor characteristic of the fruit. The composition of the 

 samples as given in Table III shows a remarkable amount of insoluble 

 material. 



Eight samples of guava preserves were analyzed. The jellies and 

 pastes of this fruit, and the orange marmalade alread\ T noted, are 

 the only fruit products which can be compared with products of the 

 same kind in this countiy. The guava preserves, unlike the orange, 

 are very similar to those of American make, the crystallized guava, 

 the guava cream, and pastes corresponding to the marmalade of the 

 American trade. Several analyses of American guava marmalades 

 will be found in Fruits and Fruit Products. a 



All the samples, except the " cascos de guayaba," which are packed in 

 glass, are put up in wooden boxes lined with paper. The crystallized 

 guava, the cream, and the pastes analyzed contained nearly 80 per cent 

 of sugar, some of which had crystallized out. The " cascos de gua- 



U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bureau of Chemistry, Bui. No. 66, p. 61. 



