Producer Profile: Tasmanian Feijoa Temptations
If you’ve seen punnets of egg-shaped fruit with smooth green skin in-store lately and wondered what they are, they’re feijoas! Read on to find out all about feijoas and Noel Larsen, the man with a vision to grow them commercially in Tasmania.
New in-store in the last few weeks are feijoas. We’re proud to be the first large retailer selling feijoas from Tassie grower Noel Larsen’s enterprise, Tasmanian Feijoa Temptations. Noel has two feijoa orchards, one in Pipers River about 30 minutes from Launceston and one in Kindred, near Devonport.
On the day we caught up with Noel he was loading up his ute with Hill Street Devonport’s first delivery of feijoas and said it was a day he has dreamt about for years – to get his fruit into a major retailer. Noel started farming feijoas eight years ago when no-one in Tasmania really knew what a feijoa was. So, before we go any further, exactly what is a feijoa?
Feijoas are also known as ‘pineapple guava’ and are natives of South America. They have been described as tasting like a combination of guava, pineapple and strawberry, with a sweet, flowery, slightly minty smell. They’re eaten by cutting them in half and scooping out the creamy pale flesh, which has a constancy a little like a pear.
Today they are grown in temperate climates around the world and are a popular fruit in New Zealand.
Noel grew up in New Zealand and remembers loving feijoas as a child. He moved to Tasmania some years later and was disappointed they weren’t available here. Noel started a career with Woolworths in Produce, becoming a Produce Manager and working his way up to Assistant Store Manager over 16 years – this is still his ‘day’ job. But he hadn’t forgotten about feijoas and when he came across a feijoa orchard at Kindred, Noel’s vision began to become a reality. Noel started another orchard at Pipers River eight years ago and has carefully tended his trees at both orchards ever since.
Today production has finally reached a level where Noel can supply a larger retailer and Hill Street is very proud to support Noel’s operation. Fruiting season is about 10-12 weeks long and runs from early autumn to early winter. Feijoas drop their fruit rather than having it picked – Noel warns they shouldn’t be picked as they aren’t ready until they drop – and then the rush is on to collect and package them ready for sale. Noel says Feijoas are quite perishable and need to get to the stores as quickly as possible.
Noel’s enthusiasm for feijoas is contagious. They’re a superfruit with more vitamin C than oranges, and contain proanthocyanins, a type of polyphenol antioxidant, which reduces inflammation and may help regulate blood pressure and blood sugar. They also contain folate, potassium, and are high in fibre.
Noel’s fruit is used by Miners Gold Brewery to create Feijoa Sour beer, which Noel says is a very pleasant craft beer with a hint of a fruity aroma and is low alcohol, at 2.8 per cent.
Van Dieman’s Land Creamery has created an apple and feijoa ice-cream with Noel’s fruit, and a local feijoa vodka is in the works.
We've also got a delicious feijoa recipe for you! Try our Feijoa Sponge Pudding. Hiding beneath a layer of golden sponge lies a delightfully fragrant and flavoursome feijoa curd. You can find the recipe here.
Watch out for Noel’s feijoas in all our stores in their distinctive white cardboard punnets, $7.90 for a 650g punnet.
