Cherimoya (Annona Cherimola)

The Cherimoya or Chirimoya ( Annona cherimola ) is sometimes called sugar apple because of its sweetness, but that would be the soursop.

Use in the kitchen:

The characteristic creamy taste of the cherimoya is a mixture of pear, banana, mango and papaya. The cherimoya is a heart-shaped, roughly fist-sized exotic fruit. It has a grey-green, flat, velvety skin. The flesh is soft, white, sweet and juicy. Depending on the fruit, it can contain a few to many brown-black, elongated seeds. To eat the fruit raw, cut it lengthways and remove the stalk. To avoid oxidation and discolouration, add a few drops of lemon or lime juice to the cut, cream-coloured flesh.

The cherimoya is scooped out of its skin like a kiwi, but the seeds are not eaten. Unlike many exotic fruits, even the washed skin is edible - if it is organically grown. The fine pulp is suitable as an ingredient in cold sauces or can be used as a delicious dessert, in mixed drinks or ice cream. When processing the fruit or the juice, you should be particularly careful with your clothes. The juice causes stains on fabric that are difficult to remove. A permanent yellow stain remains. If you cook the cherimoya, it loses its flavor and many vitamins.

Shopping - where to buy?

The cherimoya is one of the typical winter fruits. Its season starts in September and lasts until February (sometimes until April). During this time it can be found in supermarkets in Europe and North America among the exotic fruits. Most major retailers such as Coop , Migros , Denner , Volg , Spar , Aldi , Lidl , Rewe , Edeka , Hofer etc. also have it on offer.

When unripe, it still feels very firm. It is worth buying it in this state if you can wait a day or two, because then, with a little experience, you can wait and see what the "right level of ripeness" is for you, because some consumers want more fruitiness (fruit acid), others want more of an extremely sweet taste.

The fruit is only ripe when the flesh of the grey-green fruit gives way slightly when gently pressed. It should then be as firm as an avocado or mango. It is often wrapped in a foam net to protect it.

Found in the wild:

In the foothills of the Andes, the Cherimoya can be found at an altitude of 1500 to 1900 m above sea level on evergreen, wild and up to 9 meter high shrubby trees.

Storage:

Cherimoya is a climacteric fruit, which means it ripens at room temperature. Once it has reached the right level of ripeness, it should be eaten or processed as quickly as possible. Do not store cherimoya for long at temperatures below 13°C, as it cannot tolerate cold, similar to bananas. As a trick, you can keep some of your purchases in the fridge for a few days to prevent them all from ripening together. At temperatures above 10°C, the ripening process is delayed. ³ You can take out the amount you need for the next day.

Ingredients - nutritional value - calories:

The fruit owes its sweetness to the sugars fructose, sucrose and glucose in roughly equal proportions. The cherimoya contains hardly any fat, but instead contains fiber. It is a typical dessert fruit, but not a superfood, because the ingredients are healthy, as with almost every fruit, but none are present in particularly high quantities.

The low-acid cream fruit has 13 mg of vitamin C , but the strawberry, for example, has 59 mg. The vitamin B complex is dominated by pyridoxine (B ₆ ) at 0.26 mg, followed by folate at 23 µg, which still covers 12% of the daily requirement. Of course, cherimoya also contains some thiamine (B ₁ ), followed by riboflavin (B ₂ ), pantothenic acid (vitamin B ₅ ) and niacin (B ₃ ). Minerals such as potassium , magnesium , phosphorus , calcium , iron and zinc are also present. ¹ In terms of amino acids, tryptophan at 0.03 g covers 13% of the daily requirement. Cherimoya offers little fat, but the composition is exceptionally good in terms of omega-3 fatty acids (ALA). ¹ See the ingredient tables below the text or click on "Ingredient Tables" to see whether the daily requirement is covered.

Health aspects - effects:

The important antioxidants contained in cherimoya help to lower the bad LDL cholesterol level and to absorb bile. The high potassium content helps to regulate blood pressure. This is very important for the heart and coronary arteries. After a gastroenteritis, potassium can help to replenish the reduced mineral stores. The fiber promotes intestinal transit and improves the intestinal flora.

Niacin (nicotinic acid) plays an important role in the body's energy supply. Among other things, niacin promotes the formation of messenger substances in the brain. These transport information from nerve cell to nerve cell. A possible niacin deficiency can lead to irritability or even depressive moods. In appropriate quantities, niacin has a positive effect on health. For example, it helps with arteriosclerosis. The glucose component is responsible for the regeneration of muscles, nerves, DNA and skin.

Cherimoya has numerous health-promoting properties. However, due to its high sugar content, it should be consumed in moderation.

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects:

The kernels contain poisonous alkaloids, which is why they should not be eaten. The seeds are used as an insecticide, for parasitic skin diseases and as a strong emetic and laxative. ²

The niacin (vitamin B ₃ ) contained in the fruit also causes side effects if the daily dose of 15 mg is exceeded. However, that would be about 3 kg of cherimoya. Since the body produces some of the vitamin niacin itself, it is difficult to estimate the daily requirement. If the body is given too much niacin, an overdose can occur. The consequences are nausea, headaches, reddening of the skin or other symptoms of poisoning. Niacin deficiency diseases (pellagra) is only found in very poor regions with food shortages. In the past, this often occurred where the diet consisted only of maize and sorghum.

Diabetics should consume this fruit with caution due to its high glucose content.

Use as a medicinal plant:

The cooked peel from organic cultivation is used to treat chronic colitis (inflammation of the large intestine). The low-fat but very carbohydrate-rich pulp of the cherimoya is effective against weakness and anemia.

Occurrence:

Originally from Ecuador and Peru, the cherimoya is now grown as a fruit tree in the subtropics and at higher altitudes in the tropics. For example, in Brazil, Mexico, California, Israel and on the Canary Islands. In Europe, the tree is found in southern Italy, Andalusia and on the island of Madeira.

Cultivation - Harvest:

It is interesting that the flowers hardly ever self-pollinate. This is done by a small insect (a cherimoya beetle) that only flies out irregularly due to the weather. In addition, the fragrant flowers are only open for a few hours for fertilization. For this reason, flowers on cherimoya plantation trees are artificially fertilized. This is also common practice in some of the areas of origin. The fruits need about five to eight months to grow after pollination. Only 20-40 custard apple fruits grow on a fully grown tree. The cherimoya is harvested when it is still unripe to ensure it lasts longer. This means it can withstand long transport without damage. The effort required to get the fruit to the shops justifies the price of the fine, exotic fruit with the exceptional aroma.

Danger of confusion:

The Annona family includes some very similar looking fruits. The Annona reticulata , also known as bullock's heart or custard apple, is the most similar to the Cherimoya.

Also very similar to the cherimoya is the custard apple ( Annona squamosa, sugar apple, soursop), but the skin of the custard apple has curved scales that easily separate from each other when ripe.

Besides the four species of cherimoya, soursop, soursop and scaled soursop, there are several other edible fruits from the genus Annona .

General information:

The cherimoya ( Annona cherimola ) is a plant species in the family Annonaceae. ³ The name cherimoya is derived from the Spanish term "chirimoya" or "chirimoyo". These terms are derived from an unknown Indian name. The name probably comes from the Peruvian Quechua (ciri and muyu), which means "cold" and "circle". ⁴

The cherimoya belongs to the genus Annona. There are about 80 species in the genus Annona. They develop only sparsely through free pollination. Each species has its own special aroma. The cherimoya ( Annona cherimola , Chirimoya, Jamaica apple, cream apple, sweet sack, sugar apple) is the most economically important Annona. Due to different names in different languages, terms such as Annona, cream apple, sweet sack etc. also occur for other Annona species.

Also of commercial importance are the Annona genus, the Annona reticulata , the soursop ( Annona muricata , soursop, graviola), the cinnamon apple ( Annona squamosa , soursop) and the atemoya ( Annona ×atemoya ). The atemoya is a hybrid of the Annona cherimola and the Annona squamosa . ⁵ The soursop and the soursop are often only found in fruit juices in Europe.

Less well-known are, for example, the Ilama ( Annona macroprophyllata ), the narrow-crowned custard apple ( Annona stenopetala ) and the mucosa ( Annona mucosa Jacq.).

Literature - Sources:

1. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
2. Morton JF. Fruits of warm climates. Cherimoya. Miami: Distributed by Creative Resources Systems; 1987. pp. 65-69.
3. German Wikipedia: Cherimoya.
4. Rehm S, Espig G. The cultivated plants of the tropics and subtropics. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer; 1976. ISBN3-8001-4108-6
5. Brücher H. Tropical crops. Berlin: Springer-Verlag;1977 ISBN 3-540-08185-2.