Ugni
Ugni molinae · Myrtaceae · also known as Chilean guava, Strawberry myrtle, Murta, Tazziberry (NZ), New Zealand cranberry
A tiny maroon berry with an outsized aroma — sweet-tart and perfumed with strawberry, guava, and bubblegum — foraged in Chile and famous as Queen Victoria's reputed favourite fruit.
At a glance
- Taste
- Intensely aromatic for its size — strawberry, guava, and a candy-like sweetness with a resinous myrtle note and a gentle tartness. Firm and seedy, like a spiced miniature berry.
- Origin
- Central and southern Chile (and adjacent Argentina)
- Grown in
- Chile, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Australia
- Peak season
- Autumn
- Notable varieties
- Wild murta, Named ornamental selections
Sensory & practical profile
Taste fingerprint
- Sweetness
- Tartness
- Aroma
- Juiciness
- Firmness
Approximate, at peak ripeness · 0–5
- Ripe when
- Plump, deep-maroon berries with a strong sweet fragrance; pale or hard ones are underripe.
- How to eat
- Eat a handful fresh for the perfume, or cook into murta jam — the classic Chilean pairing is with quince.
- Typical price
- Premium
Reputedly Queen Victoria's favourite fruit — the Chilean guava was once shipped to England expressly for her.
How to select & store
Picking a ripe one
Choose plump, deep-maroon berries with a strong sweet fragrance; pale or hard berries are underripe. Mostly foraged or from specialist growers.
Storing it
Refrigerate and use within a few days — they are small and perishable. They make superb jam and freeze well for winter baking.
Practical uses
🍽️ Culinary
- Eaten fresh by the handful for their perfume
- Murta jam and the Chilean dessert murta con membrillo (with quince)
- Muffins, tarts, and liqueurs; steeped into spirits
- A fragrant garnish for desserts and cocktails
🌿 Health & traditional
- Leaves brewed as a traditional Mapuche and Chilean folk tea
🎎 Cultural
- Long harvested by Chile's Mapuche people; a wild-foraged autumn treasure of the south
- Reputedly Queen Victoria's favourite fruit, once shipped to England for her
Ugni proves that aroma has nothing to do with size. Barely bigger than a peppercorn, this deep-maroon Chilean berry punches out a perfume of strawberry, guava, and bubblegum that fills the mouth — a Myrtaceae relative of the guava, and one of the most fragrant small fruits there is.
A royal reputation
The Chilean guava’s claim to fame is a good one: it was reputedly Queen Victoria’s favourite fruit, shipped to England expressly for her table. Long before that, Chile’s Mapuche people foraged the wild murta each autumn from the southern forests, eating it fresh and steeping its leaves into tea — a harvest that continues today.
Fresh, or in the jar
A handful eaten fresh is all perfume; but ugni’s real staying power is in the pot. Murta con membrillo — the berries stewed with quince — is a beloved Chilean dessert, and the jam, muffins, and liqueurs made from it capture that candy-strawberry aroma for winter. Alongside the strawberry it so resembles, it’s a small berry that rewards the forager and the jam-maker alike.
