Custard apple

Learn more about the custard apple: properties, benefits, recipes, different varieties, how to preserve and consume it and buy custard apples on Exotic Fruit Box.… Everything you need to know about custard apples!

About the Custard Apple

Custard apples are sweet, juicy and very tasty. This fruit gathers the best tasting properties of strawberry, raspberry and pear, with a subtle touch of cinnamon.

The flesh is creamy —even oily, with a very peculiar flavour differentiating it from the rest of annonas.

The taste resembles that of custard. This fruit is very appreciated in India and Indonesia.

This heart-shaped fruit is covered by a green, thick-but-not-hard skin with a very characteristic pattern resembling a reptile’s scales. The flesh contains a lot of black seeds that can be easily removed.

The custard apple tree is a small tree growing to 15 ft (5 m) with low branches. The fruit produced is an infructescense, i.e. it is formed by several pieces of fruit attached to each other.

How to preserve and consume custard apples

Hard or green custard apples ripen in a couple of days at room temperature. They can be consumed even when the skin has gone black and it yields to a minimum pressure. Do not preserve refrigerated. It is a delicate, fragile exotic fruit when ripe.

An indication of ripening is the creamy-like colour appearing at the skin and a softer surface. It should be consumed fresh so you can enjoy its sweetness and creaminess. To avoid oxidation of the fruit and bring out a more intense flavor, we recommend sprinkling the flesh with a bit of lemon juice.

To eat a custard apple, gently pull out the stem to remove it (it should get out easily if it is ripe). Cut it in half with a sharpen knife, horizontally or vertically. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh —avoiding the black seeds and enjoy this absolutely delicious exotic fruit!

Nutritional properties of custard apples

CUSTARD APPLE NUTRITION FACTS – 100 G
CALORIES 29
TOTAL FAT 0.17 g – 0%
SATURATED FAT 0.065 g – 0%
CHOLESTEROL 0 mg – 0%
SODIUM 1 mg – 0%
POTASSIUM 108 mg
TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE 7.14 g – 2%
DIETARY FIBER 0.7 g – 3%
PROTEIN 0.48 g
VITAMIN A 0%
VITAMIN C 9%
CALCIUM 1%
IRON 1%

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Health benefits of the custard apple

  • Custard apples are ideal in weight loss diets because of their low fat content.
  • They are rich in vitamin C, which is great to increase the defenses of your immune system.
  • Thanks to their high fibre content, they are a good laxative option for constipated people.
  • They also reduce cholesterol because they are low in sodium and fat, but very rich in potassium.
  • Their high-energy content (and also in iron) makes them ideal to fight anemia.
  • Acetogenins can be found in custard apples, so they are considered antitumor-efficient and beneficial in the prevention against cancer.
  • Their tonic effect prevents fatigue and feeling down.
  • Custard apples are extremely rich in vitamins and minerals, so they are especially indicated for growing children.

Custard Apple Varieties

This fruit can adopt several forms and textures of skin, being those the specific criteria to distinguish the different existing families.

  • Finger-printed: large-sized fruit with only a few seeds, fast growth and great The skin is characterized by rings resembling a reptile’s scales or fingerprints. The flesh is sweet, juicy and very tasty.
  • Umbonate: medium-sized fruit, tasty and with a lot of seeds. Thin skin with abruptly-ending pointy bulges. Not very resistant to transportation.
  • Mammillate: characterized by its large size and smooth skin. Tastier and more aromatic than other varieties. Fewer seeds.
  • Tuberculate: medium-sized and late ripening stage.
  • Loevis: smooth skin with no bulging.

This fruit presents a lot of varieties, being the most popular in Spain the Fino de Jete, Campas, Pacica and Bonita (all from Finger-printed variety).

Curious facts about custard apples

  • Several products for lice treatments, headaches, gout and dysentery have been obtained from custard apple seeds.
  • Like soursops, custard apples have high anti-cancerous qualities, eliminating malignant cells of 12 types of cancer, like colon, cervix, breast, prostate, lung or pancreas.
  • Custard apples reduce cholesterol due to their low fat content and high fibre content, allowing for the decrease of ‘bad cholesterol’ levels, the absorption of bile acids and the regulation of intestinal flora.
  • Custard apple’s high-energy content makes them suitable to prevent tiredness, fatigue and depression. It helps calm nervous people.
  • It is also recommendable in loss weight diets because of its satiating effect. And it balances your blood sugar level thanks to the fibre content, improving the laxative effect and prolonging the absorption of sugars in time.
  • Spanish conquerors named it ‘white delicacy’ when they discovered it in America.
  • Mark Twain once called it ‘the most delicious fruit on Earth’.