Custard apple

What it is

The fruit measures 8–16 cm (3¼–6½ in) across and can be heart-shaped, round or lopsided. Its thin but tough skin turns yellow or brownish, sometimes blushed pink or red, with a faint or clear net pattern on the surface.

Creamy-white flesh surrounds moderately juicy segments, many holding a single glossy dark seed. A fibrous core runs from the stem more than halfway through the fruit. The pulp is sweet and custard-like, though less distinctive in flavour than cherimoya, sugar apple or atemoya.

Where it comes from

Custard apple comes from tropical America, including the Caribbean, Central America and southern Mexico. It travelled to tropical Africa in the early seventeenth century and now grows across India, Southeast Asia and Australia, as well as Florida.

In India it is cultivated around Kolkata and grows wild in other areas. In South Africa it has a place as a fruit tree beside the home.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Indian home cooking, ramphal can go into kulfi: the skin and seeds come out, the pulp is pushed through a sieve, then it joins milk simmered with sugar and cardamom and freezes in moulds. Chopped pistachios finish the dessert.

In Central America, Mexico and the West Indies, the fruit is widely liked. The ripe flesh is scooped from the skin and eaten plain or with light cream and a sprinkling of sugar, and sieved pulp goes into milkshakes, custards and ice cream.

How it's grown

The tree reaches 5–10 m (16–33 ft), with a rounded or spreading crown. It likes a humid climate and deep, moist soil that drains freely. Growers usually raise it from seed, though budding and grafting also work. Its seedlings can provide the roots for grafted soursop, sugar apple or atemoya trees.

When and where you'll find it

The tree usually crops in late winter and spring, when the other favoured annonas are out of season. It is picked once it has lost all its green colour and ripens without splitting, which suits local markets. In the US, the online grower Miami Fruit sells Annona reticulata as single fruit or in boxes. Firm fruit softens at room temperature and is ready when soft all over. The seeds are not eaten.