Custard-apple
Encyclopedia
The tree also grows in Egypt,but the fruit is quite greenish in color not brown or yellowish.The common name for the fruit in Egypt is "Kishta".
The custard-apple, also called bullock's heart or bull's heart, is the fruit
of the tree Annona reticulata
. This tree is a small deciduous
or semi-evergreen tree
sometimes reaching 10 metres (32.8 ft) tall and a native of the tropical New World
that prefers low elevations, and a warm, humid climate. It also occurs as feral
populations in many parts of the world including Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India, Australia, and Africa.
The fruits are variable in shape, oblong, or irregular. The size ranges from 7 centimetres (2.8 in) to 12 centimetres (4.7 in). When ripe, the fruit is brown or yellowish, with red highlights and a varying degree of reticulation, depending on variety. The flavor is sweet and pleasant, akin to the taste of 'traditional' custard.
Tikal: is of excellent quality and medium yield; its flesh is bright-red, except in the white areas surrounding the seeds.
Canul: has a medium fruit with a waxy, shiny dark-red surface and purplish red flesh; it is very aromatic and deliciously sweet with few concretions of hard cells.
Sartenaya: has a medium fruit with a waxy, shiny red surface and pink flesh with a magnificent taste and texture. Although the fruit is not as attractive in appearance as that of the previous two cultivars. the tree is sturdier.
San Pablo: has a long, large fruit with an opaque, light-red surface. The flesh is dark-pink with a good aroma and taste. It is a vigorous, productive cultivar.
Benque: has a big conical fruit with a dark-red surface and very tasty dark-pink flesh.
Caledonia: has a small fruit with a dark surface: it is very attractive to cochineal insects (Philophaedra sp.), which are not very common in other varieties. The flesh is pink and has an excellent taste.
Chonox: has a medium fruit with a red skin and juicy. very tasty pink flesh; it is very productive and, for this reason, often has low-quality fruit. It produces abundant flowers in groups of up to 16.
The custard-apple, also called bullock's heart or bull's heart, is the fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
of the tree Annona reticulata
Annona reticulata
Annona reticulata is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree in the plant family Annonaceae.It is best known for its fruit, called custard-apple, a name it shares with fruits of other species from the same genus: A. cherimola and A. squamosa or sometimes it is called wild-sweetsop,...
. This tree is a small deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
or semi-evergreen tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
sometimes reaching 10 metres (32.8 ft) tall and a native of the tropical New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
that prefers low elevations, and a warm, humid climate. It also occurs as feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
populations in many parts of the world including Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India, Australia, and Africa.
The fruits are variable in shape, oblong, or irregular. The size ranges from 7 centimetres (2.8 in) to 12 centimetres (4.7 in). When ripe, the fruit is brown or yellowish, with red highlights and a varying degree of reticulation, depending on variety. The flavor is sweet and pleasant, akin to the taste of 'traditional' custard.
Cultivars
Canul: has a medium fruit with a waxy, shiny dark-red surface and purplish red flesh; it is very aromatic and deliciously sweet with few concretions of hard cells.
Sartenaya: has a medium fruit with a waxy, shiny red surface and pink flesh with a magnificent taste and texture. Although the fruit is not as attractive in appearance as that of the previous two cultivars. the tree is sturdier.
San Pablo: has a long, large fruit with an opaque, light-red surface. The flesh is dark-pink with a good aroma and taste. It is a vigorous, productive cultivar.
Benque: has a big conical fruit with a dark-red surface and very tasty dark-pink flesh.
Caledonia: has a small fruit with a dark surface: it is very attractive to cochineal insects (Philophaedra sp.), which are not very common in other varieties. The flesh is pink and has an excellent taste.
Chonox: has a medium fruit with a red skin and juicy. very tasty pink flesh; it is very productive and, for this reason, often has low-quality fruit. It produces abundant flowers in groups of up to 16.
See also
- AtemoyaAtemoyaThe atemoya, Annona × atemoya, is a hybrid of two fruits – the sugar apple and the cherimoya – which are both native to the American tropics. This fruit is popular in Taiwan, where it is known as the "pineapple sugar apple" , and is sometimes mistaken for a cross between the sugar...
(a cross of A. squamosa and A. cherimola) - CherimoyaCherimoyaThe Cherimoya is the fruit of the species Annona cherimola, which is native to the Andes. Today they are grown throughout South and Central America.-Description:...
(Annona cherimola) - Pawpaw (Asimina spp)
- Sugar-appleSugar-appleAnnona squamosa is a species of Annona native to the tropical Americas and widely grown in Colombia, El Salvador, India, Pakistan and the Philippines...
(Annona squamosa)