Custard apple
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Custard apple is a common name for a fruit, and the tree which bears it, Annona reticulata.
The fruits vary in shape, heart-shaped, spherical, oblong or irregular. The size ranges from 7 to 12 cm (2.8 to 4.7 in), depending on the cultivar. When ripe, the fruit is brown or yellowish, with red highlights and a varying degree of reticulation, depending again on the variety. The flesh varies from juicy and very aromatic to hard with an astringent taste.[1] The flavor is sweet and pleasant, akin to the taste of 'traditional' custard.
The custard apple is native to the Americas, but has been found on the island of Timor as early as 1000 CE.[2]
Custard apple may also be the name of some similar fruits produced by related trees:
- Annonaceae, the soursop family.[3]
- Asimina triloba,[4] the "pawpaw", a deciduous tree, ranging from southern Ontario to Texas and Florida, that bears the largest edible fruit native to the United States or Canada.[5]
- Annona cherimola, a tree and fruit also called cherimoya[6]
- Annona squamosa, a tree and fruit also called sugar apple or sweetsop[7]
- Annona senegalensis, a tree and fruit called wild custard-apple[8]
- Casimiroa edulis, in the rue or citrus family, Rutaceae
References
- ^ Mahdeem, H. (5 July 1998). "Annona reticulata". Neglected Crops. Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Purdue University. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
- ^ Glover, Ian C. (June 1, 1977). "The Late Stone Age in eastern Indonesia". World Archaeology. 9: 42–61. doi:10.1080/00438243.1977.9979684.
- ^ "Annonaceae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
- ^ "Custard-apple". TheFreeDictionary.com.
- ^ "Pawpaw Description and Nutritional Information". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
- ^ "Annona cherimola". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ "Annona squamosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ "Annona senegalensis". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
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