Have you ever tried Guayaba jam? You might have, but probably not the one produced in Salobreña.

The company, Loma y Vega, has its offices on the Avenida de Motril where the locally grown fruit is transformed and packaged. The marmalade or jam is an antioxidant with a high content of fibre and vitamins A & C. It’s also low in sugar and has no preservatives.

They also have four other flavours; mango, chirimoya and níspola and are working on a fifth, which will be a mixture of guayaba and berries, all of which are cultivated on the Costa Tropical.

This product came about with the idea of utilising the surplus fruit that for whatever reason (size, shape etc) is not commercialised directly from the fruit warehouses… and there is a lot. In other words, kilos and kilos of fruit that is rejected for export because of some defect such as being too small, etc.

Other Salobreña-based companies, such as Salsas Picantes La Demanda, use its bottling/packaging facilities for their own products.

Loma y Vega started up this year but already gives employment to eight people, four of whom work in the fruit production & harvesting side in vegas and the other four on the plant floor.

Loma y Vega jam has a year’s shelf life despite no preservatives being used, and can be purchased in gourmet shops in Salobreña and Almuñécar or via internet at the website, www.mermeladadeguayaba.com