Feijoa (Acca sellowiana) is the tart green-fleshed fruit that grows in nearly every Auckland backyard in autumn. Eaten with a spoon scooping the flesh; the canonical NZ home-grown.
Feijoa is native to subtropical Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay; it was brought to New Zealand in the early 20th century. By the 1980s it had become a near-universal Auckland backyard tree because of the mild humid climate. Commercial production developed in the 1980s in Bay of Plenty and Northland. The fruit ripens March to May, drops naturally, and floods the market in autumn. Feijoa never went commercial outside the NZ-Australian export channel; nearly every Aucklander has a household supply each autumn. Used in jams, chutneys, cakes, cocktails and (most commonly) eaten with a teaspoon scooping the soft flesh.
