Cherimoya

A large tree that prefers the favorable climate of the subtropics gave us this rather interesting fruit. Moreover, it is unusual for our person both in name and in appearance and content. A cherimoya is a complex segmented fruit that is distinguished by its heart-shaped or conical shape. It is noteworthy that the mass of one fruit can reach three kilograms with a length of about 10-20 cm and a width of 10 centimeters. But still, the most common cherimoya sizes, which most often go on sale, hardly exceed half a kilogram.

Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru are considered the birthplace of this exotic fruit for us. Today, the main exporting countries of Cherimoya can be called Thailand, China, Malaysia, Australia, Spain, Chile, Venezuela and Colombia.

To cultivate, that is, purposefully grow, cherimoya began in ancient times. It was found that the seeds of this unusual fruit were present in Peru at excavations several thousand kilometers from the place of origin of the plant itself. And cherimoya fruits were depicted on pottery that dates from the pre-Inca era. By the way, today wild trees can be found in the Loja region, in the south-west of Ecuador - there, in rare populated areas, there are still vast groves of cherimoya.

By the way, cherimoya is also known under the name ice cream tree. She got such a name thanks to her consistency, which in frozen form resembles the favorite delicacy of many sweet tooth. In addition, the second reason for such an unusual name was the special gently sweet taste of cherimoya - this is probably why the flesh of the fruit is perfectly combined with this cool dessert. In general, if you try to describe this very taste of cherimoya, you need to piece together pineapple, strawberries, papaya, banana, mango and cream.

If you cut a large heart-shaped green cherimoya fruit, a fragrant white fibrous-cream flesh will open in front of you, in which you can see 20 pieces of black shiny small bones. As mentioned earlier, when cooled, it resembles a sherbet made from tropical fruits. For example, in Chile, cherimoya in this form is the favorite filler of waffle cups for cakes and ice cream, and this juicy pulp is often added to yogurt.

It is customary to eat this exotic fruit for our country with a spoon, having previously cut it along into 2 parts. In addition, the culinary experts often add delicate cherimoya pulp to a variety of dishes - mainly salads, desserts and drinks. However, like avocados, when they come into contact with oxygen, the fruit begins to darken, so it is recommended to spray the flesh with lemon or lime juice. Well, naturally, black cherimoya seeds are absolutely unsuitable for food, and therefore they are taken out of the fruit and thrown away.