Feijoa — Sometimes Sold as "Guava," Tastes Like Neither Alone

Feijoa is often mislabelled as a type of guava, but it's a separate South American fruit with a flavour all its own — commonly described as a mix of pineapple, strawberry, and guava, with a faint mint or eucalyptus note that shows up on the finish. It arrives a touch firm and continues ripening at home, softening and turning genuinely fragrant over a few days; the smell is actually the best clue, since a ripe feijoa gives off a noticeable perfume you can catch before you even cut it. The cream-coloured flesh has a granular texture, a bit like a ripe pear, wrapped around a translucent, almost jelly-like centre near the seeds. The thin green skin is technically edible but tastes bitter and tart, so most people skip it and go straight for the flesh with a spoon.