SUGAR APPLE (Red Rind)

Common Name: Sugar apple
Vernacular Names: Sweetsop, Anon, Custard apple[misapplied]
Botanical Name: Annona squamosa
Specimens From: Malaysia
Specimens Weight: 210 gm [7.41 oz] (Average weight per fruit)

Sugar apple, believes to be native from the Caribbean region and the northern South America but is now cultivated in most of the tropical countries throughout the world.

This fruit is known by its numerous vernacular names, mostly by the languages of the different countries. Some countries loosely apply the name, custard apple to this fruit, which is misleading and technically incorrect. There is another fruit in the same family, which looks similar but not as common, known by the actual name of custard apple (annona reticulata). So don't be confused by the same name as both fruits are different.

Sugar apple, as the name says it all, is sweet as sugar. The flesh nearest to the rind, tastes like sugar crumbs too. It is usually conical in shape but sometimes, it may be almost round. It is easy to tell when it is ready to eat. The rind is thick with knobby segments but will turn soft and crack open, releasing a sweet aroma when it ripes.

The off-white creamy flesh is in many segments and almost every segment contains a blackish brown seed. There are some seedless variety but it is not commonly available. The easiest way to eat it, is to bite a few segments of custard flesh and slowly enjoying the delicious taste. Just remember to spit out the seeds as it is toxic.

Sugar apple comes in two basic color rinds, the green and the red (photos shown above) with some varies in the lighter/darker color tones. But it seems that the red sugar apple is not as common as the green ones. As for the taste, both taste alike, sweet and sweet!


Fruit: Sugar Apple; Annona squamosa; Annonaceae.


Other fruits in the same family: Atemoya , Sugar Apple[green rind], Soursop.


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