Healthy Food Database

Custards apples grow in subtropical areas of Australia. They are pale green with a knobbly skin. Inside they hold large, dark brown seeds and soft, white, supersweet flesh.
There are two main varieties of custard apples, the Pinks Mammoth and the African Pride.
Custard apples are known as the "aristocrat of fruits". The flesh is a great nutritious way to satisfy a sweet tooth as the natural sugar provides sustained energy as well as other nutrients such as Vitamin C, dietary fibre, Vitamin B6, magnesium and potassium, .B2 and complex carbohydrate.
A custard apple is ripe when you gently squeeze it and it gives slightly under your hand. Much the same as an avocado. You can buy custard apples ready to eat, or still hard to the touch and let it ripen over the next few days after purchase.
If you want to hasten the ripening process then simply put the fruit into a brown paper bag with a banana and leave it on the kitchen bench. The banana will accelerate the ripening of the custard apple.
Custard Apples are only eaten when soft, and only the flesh is eaten. To eat, simply cut in half and scoop out the white flesh. The Custard Apple should be moist with a pleasant sweet aroma. Once ripe, custard apples can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Once the skin has gone purple or black, they have passed their best eating quality.

Category: Fruit

In Season: Autumn Winter