Cherimoya

Also known asAnnona cherimola · Chirimoya

Name: Cherimoya (Annona cherimola), also spelled chirimoya and sometimes called custard apple. The name comes from the Quechua word chirimuya, usually translated as “cold seeds.” It is a close relative of the sugar apple and soursop, which have their own pages.

Description

The cherimoya is native to the cool, high valleys of the Andes in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, where it has been eaten for centuries. Spanish colonists carried it to Central America, Spain, the Mediterranean and later California, and today Spain is a major producer in Europe, with Chile, Peru and Mexico also growing it. It is a fruit of cool tropical highlands rather than hot lowlands.

The fruit is heart-shaped to round, with a bumpy, pale green skin, and creamy white flesh that is soft and custardy, with a flavour often described as a mix of banana, pineapple, pear and vanilla. Mark Twain, after trying it in Hawaii, famously described it as “deliciousness itself.”

Main nutrition value

Cherimoya provides vitamin C, vitamin B6, fibre and potassium, and has a naturally high sugar content, which makes it very sweet.

How best to be consumed

Cherimoya is best eaten fresh and fully ripe, scooped with a spoon.

1. Let it ripen at room temperature until it yields to gentle pressure, then chill before eating.
2. Cut in half and scoop out the creamy flesh with a spoon, discarding the skin.
3. Spit out or remove all the glossy black seeds, which are not edible.
4. Blend into smoothies, ice cream, mousse and sorbet.
5. Serve chilled, and eat soon after cutting, since the flesh browns.

Overconsumption could cause…

Cherimoya flesh is safe, but the seeds and skin are not meant to be eaten.

1. Poisoning risk from crushed or chewed seeds, which contain toxic alkaloids, so they must always be discarded.
2. High sugar intake if a large fruit is eaten at once.
3. Digestive upset from a large quantity of rich, sweet pulp.
4. Concerns about annonacin in annonaceous fruits and leaves, a compound under study for neurological effects with very heavy long-term intake, so moderation is sensible.

GroupsTropical FruitsCustard apple family (Annonaceae)Low fatLow sodiumMexican and Latin AmericanFresh

Related foodsSoursopSugar AppleCustard AppleMamey SapoteBlack SapoteCanistel / Eggfruit

Wikipedia — Cherimoya, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherimoya