Guanabana (sour cream apple)

The tropical plant guanabana is also known by other names - sour cream apple, graviola and spiny annon. But all these names mean an evergreen tree that regularly gives the inhabitants of Latin America large, juicy and insanely tasty fruits.

This small tree grows throughout tropical America. Most often, guanabanu (sour cream apple) can be encountered at latitude from Argentina to southern Mexico. It is also distributed in Bermuda and the Bahamas. In addition, the world has long appreciated the excellent gastronomic qualities of guanabana, so today it is actively cultivated in South China, Australia and India.

By the way, the great scientist and conquistador Fernandez de Oviedo expressed his admiration for tasting the fruits of guanabana (sour cream apple). It was he who described his feelings as follows: exquisite food, disappearing in the mouth like sweet water, can easily quench thirst on a sultry day.

It is noteworthy that guanabana (sour cream apple) is a relative of ylang-ylang, which is probably why the aroma of these two plants is unusually similar. The height of the guanabana tree hardly exceeds 6 meters. The plant blooms several times a year, and the flowers are located not only on the branches, but also on the trunk of the tree. At the end of flowering, miniature green fruits appear, the size of which after some time takes on a grander scale.

Thus, mature fruits of guanabana (sour cream apple) sometimes reach 30 centimeters in length with a maximum weight of 7 kilograms. Inside the fruits, which are covered with a fairly thin but dense peel with spikes of green, there is a juicy flesh that resembles custard in consistency. It is divided into small segments, each containing a rather large black seed. Guanaban tastes somewhat like strawberries and pineapple with some citrus acid.

In addition to useful properties, this fruit has excellent taste qualities. Guanabana pulp is often used in the preparation of various desserts. This exotic fruit pairs beautifully with ice cream or whipped cream. In addition, guanabana extract is often used as an additive for tea aromatization.

Milkshakes with juice of this fruit are extremely popular in Latin America. It is there that a local alcoholic drink is made from fermented guanabana juice, and jelly, jams and sherbet are made from juicy pulp. In addition, they are prepared from fruits and sweets. To do this, the pulp with sugar strained through a sieve is brought to a boil, after which it is cooled - natural sweet and very aromatic caramel is ready.