Custard Apple – Benefits, Nutrients & 5 Delicious Recipes

What is a custard apple?

A custard apple is a spherical and highly juicy fruit with red or green barks. In most cases, the size of these sugar apples ranges from 3 to 4.8 inches. More often than not, it has a sweet and creamy taste.

Fruit experts said that America is the native origin of Cherimoya. Some argue that soursop trees of the Annonaceae family equally produce sugar apples. Amazingly, a annona reticulata tree takes between 3-4 years to produce these apples.

After that, the sugar apple can take close to 6 months to fully mature on the tree. Thereafter, you’re free to harvest the fruit for selling or any other purpose.

Nutrients in custard apple

I bet you don’t understand why health experts refer to a Cherimoya as a super fruit. Well, Cherimoya contain scores of essential nutrients like:

1. Fat
2. Fiber
3. Proteins
4. Carbohydrates
5. Magnesium
6. Potassium
7. Vitamin A
8. Thiamin
9. Sodium
10. Vitamin C
11. Proteins

Varieties of custard apple

• San Pablo
• Canul
• Chonox
• African Pride
• Hillary White

10 Health Benefits Of Eating Custard Apple

Several studies have proven that sugar apples have measureless benefits on the human body. Below are the 10 Healthy Cherimoya Apple Benefits.

1. Enhance Your Eye Health

Sugar apple contain several useful nutrients like Vitamin C that minimize the risk of getting cataracts. That’s why opticians recommend this fruit to cataract patients. Additionally, they contain more nutrients like riboflavin that aid to treat some eye disorders.

2. Intensifies Brain Health

Nutrients like vitamin B contained in sugar apples regulate the Gamma-aminobutyric acid, also known as GABA. Balanced chemical levels ensure your emotional stability. Consequently, you no longer struggle with mental conditions such as anxiety disorder and depression.

3. Lower the Risk of Getting Cancer

Amazingly, sugar apples comprise rare elements like acetogenin that have strong anti-cancer properties. The fact that these fruits have powerful antioxidants like Asimicin makes them the most preferred for cancer prevention.

4. Impedes Skin Aging

Did you know that custard apples contain antioxidants such as Bullatacin? This property explains why dermatologists recommend this fruit to patients with skin aging problems. Frequently, antioxidants trigger constant skin cell regeneration hence making your skin look healthy.

5. Strengthens the Bones

The beauty of sugar apples is that they contain fundamental nutrients like Vitamin K and Phosphorus. The body desperately needs these nutrients for efficient bone metabolism. 

Take, for instance, Vitamin K helps in the prevention of quick bone density loss. In a similar way phosphorus slowly increases the bone mass hence strengthening them.

6. Facilitates The Healing of Wounds

A shocking study showed that regular application of Vitamin K immensely enhanced wound healing. Thankfully, custard fruit contains vital nutrients including Vitamin K and Vitamin C.

Another pertinent nutrient is Manganese which triggers more production of collagen. Please know that collagen is important as it triggers the regeneration of the affected body tissue.

    7. Cures Hypertension

Are you suffering from hypertension? Need to lower your blood pressure then I recommend you consider adding custard apples to your diet daily. Pomologists say that a cherimoya contains both potassium and Magnesium. These nutrients come in handy in normalizing one’s blood pressure.

8. Lowers the Risk of Constipation

Digestion experts recommend you ingest at least 21-40 grams of fiber each day. Failure to do so puts you at the risk of a digestion problem.

As a result, you become much more susceptible to constipation. Isn’t this among the top custard apple benefits?

Annona reticulata’ bark comes in handy in the effective prevention of diarrhea. Not to add; that it enhances proper bowel movement.

9. Boosts the Health of the Teeth and Gums

Custard apples’ outer skin is highly nutritious hence equipping the body with essential minerals. For instance, Vitamin C enhances the growth and health of the gums’ connective tissues. In all honesty, healthy gums imply healthy teeth.

Recall that the gums offer the much-needed support to your teeth. Healthy gums insinuate that the teeth receive fundamental minerals such as Magnesium and Calcium.

10. Good During Pregnancy

The greatest fear of any pregnant woman is suffering a miscarriage. Obstetricians claim that the leading cause of miscarriage is a deficiency of Vitamin K in the body. The exhilarating news is that Annona reticulata are highly rich in this nutrient.

Apart from that, these fruits contain antioxidants that lessen morning sickness. As a result, it aids to make the pregnancy period much more bearable for expectant women.

7 Myths About Custard Apple

I take offense when I see people avoiding consuming sugar apples due to some ridiculous myths. Let’s debunk this laughable with solid and proven scientific facts.

1. Have a bitter, lemony taste

That’s incorrect, as these fruits are not only sweet but also creamy. Recall that the fruit consists of white, slithery pulp.

2. Matures within 14 days

In all sincerity, nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that this fruit matures within 6 months on the tree. In addition to this, the apples need at least 7 days to ripen soon after harvesting.

3. Harmful to pregnant women

This has to be the most ludicrous groundless myth that people believe. Obstetricians appreciate the immense custard apple benefits and hence recommend them to expectant women.

4. Can worsen type 2 diabetes

Technically, Annona reticulata assist to alleviate the pain of diabetic people. What most people don’t know is that sugar apples contain minimal Glycemic index hence lowering one’s blood sugar levels.

5. Causes obesity

Bariatrician has over the years vigorously recommended custard apples to their patients. Contrary to popular thinking, these fruits help to stabilize one’s body weight. Always recall that this fruit contains Vitamin B which aids to minimize flatulence.

6. Exacerbates inflammation

Thousands of people out there strongly believe that Annona reticulata worsen any form of inflammation. The impressive news is that inflammation reduction is among the substantiated Annona reticulata benefits.

Experts confirm that cherimoya fruit is rich in vitamins and fiber both of which alleviate inflammation. That’s why I recommend this fruit to patients with any inflammatory ailment like endometriosis and fatty liver sickness.

7. Heart disease patients shouldn’t eat Annona reticulata

Regrettably, some people still believe that sugar apples pose a health risk to heart patients. The truth though is that sugar apples help to remedy multiple heart-related complications. For instance, these apples help cure hypertension that would otherwise cause fatal heart failure.

How to choose perfect custard apples?

I am certain that you can’t wait to grab a fresh sugar apple the next time you visit the grocery store. Because of this, I wish to enlighten you on how to spot the perfect sugar apple. Read the tips below to pick out the best possible Cherimoya.

1. Color

You can’t afford to overlook this factor lest you choose a rotten sugar apple. The outer bark of a ripe sugar apple has a light green tone. In contrast, an unripe sugar apple’s outer skin is dark green.

Therefore, you know what color to look out for based on your preference. If you prefer a ripe and fresh apple, ensure it’s pale green.

2. Firmness

I always support checking out how firm a Cherimoya apple is during shopping. You’ll notice that a semi-rotten won’t be that much firm. A ripe apple needs to feel slightly firm when you squeeze the outer bark of this fruit.

3. Blemishes

A natural and ripe sugar apple ought to have a few blemishes. Remember that custard apples are, with no opposition, delicate. However, if the blemishes are too many to the point of drawing flies, the fruit could be rotten.

4. Smell

Do you care to smell fruits at the grocery store? You should purchase spoiled fruits, hence lose your hard-earned cash. A fresh custard ripe emits a strong sweet smell from a short distance.

Similarly, a rotten sugar apple emits an equally pungent but slightly foul smell. Therefore, this tip can go a long way in helping you pick out excellent apples.

How to store custard apples?

Research proves that unripened sugar apples last longer than ripened ones. However, the incontestable reality is that both fruits are relatively perishable. On that account, we need to discuss the right way to store these fruits.

I propose you refrigerate the apples at a temperature between 8 to 12°C. You should refrigerate for not more than 5 days lest the apples will take much longer to ripen.

Store the sugar apples in an air-tight container before placing them in the refrigerator. The more you seal the fruit, the longer it will last.

Experts keep proving that refrigerated ripe Cherimoya can last for 2-4 days. On the other hand, frozen unripened sugar apples last between 6 to 7 days.

5 Delicious Custard Apple Recipes

As unbelievable as it seems, Cherimoya are the best ingredients for some mouth-watering food. I wish to discuss some of these meals right now.

1. Annona Reticulata Teacake

Ingredients

• 3 free-range eggs
• ¼ caster sugar
• 2 Cups of Self-Raising Flour
• Melted Butter
• 3 Ripe Sugar Apples
• 1.5 teaspoon of Homemade Vanilla Extract
• Sugar

Cooking Duration

• One to 1.5 hours

How to prepare?

1.  Preheat your well-cleaned oven at a temperature of not more than 150°C.
2.  Add some butter to a clean pan to grease it.
3. Use baking paper to line both the surface and the sides of your stainless-steel pan.
4. Chop the annona reticulata into uniform halves
5. Get rid of all the sugar apple seeds
6. Scoop the white pulp into a bowl and mash it uniformly
7. Add melted butter and sugar to a bowl and beat your eggs slowly as you mix the contents
8. Use a clean spoon to add the white pulp to a bowl containing the melted butter
9.  Add flour and mix the contents more to form a batch
10. Bake the cake for 45-60 minutes in an oven.
11. Cut the cooked cake into reasonable sizes and serve.

2. Custard Apple Sorbet

Ingredients

• 1.5 teaspoon of sugar
• 2.5 teaspoons of Honey
• Sugar apples
• 2 Ginger Cookies

Cooking Duration

• 1 hr 45 min

How to prepare?

1. Clean the annona reticulata and get rid of the flesh.
2. Gorge out all the annona reticulata seeds.
3. Scoop the white pulp into a bowl and add lemon juice.
4. Add sugar and thoroughly blend the mixture
5.  Freeze the mixture for 80-90 minutes.
6. Keep stirring at intervals of 20 minutes during freezing
7. Crush your 2 Ginger Cookies using a crusher
8. Add both crushed ginger cookies and honey and drizzle the frozen mixture.

3. Custard Apple Kalakand

Ingredients

• ½ cup of Ghee
• 4 Almonds
• 1.5 Teaspoons of Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon of Lemon Juice
• 2 Tablespoons of Sugar Apple’s white Pulp
• 500 Milliliters Milk

Cooking Duration

• One hour

How to prepare?

1. Boil 250 milliliters of milk in a clean pan
2. Heat the remaining 250 milliliters of milk in another stainless-steel pan.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice to the boiled milk and let it curdle
4. Cautiously drain the milk in a cotton cloth
5. Clean the cloth using clean water to remove any trapped lemon traces.
6. Add paneer to the pan containing heated milk and cook the mixture
7. Add 1.5 teaspoons of sugar to the mixture above and let it cook for a maximum of 5 minutes even as you add annona reticulata pulp
8. Use ghee to grease one sizable plate.
9. Pour the heated mixture onto the greased plate and spread it uniformly all over the plate.
10. Chop the custard apple kalakand and refrigerate it.

4. Sugar Apple Basundi

Ingredients

• Fresh custard Apples
• Cardamom Powder
• 250 Milliliters of Fresh Milk
• 2 Teaspoons of Sugar

Cooking Duration

• Half an Hour

How to prepare?

1. Cut the custard apples into uniform sizes
2. De-seed the sugar apple halves using a clean fork.
3. Use a stainless-steel scoop to excavate the white, creamy pulp
4. Heat 250 liters of milk in a washed steel pan under moderate temperature.
5. Keep stirring the milk as it heats to prevent unnecessary scorching.
6. Add 1.5 teaspoons of cardamom powder and sugar and let the mixture cook for an extra 4-5 minutes.
7. Turn off the source of heat and cover the pan for cooling purposes.
8. Once the Basundi cools for a while add the sugar apple pulp and mix using any mixing tool.
9. Garnish your annona reticulata Basundi using almonds.

5. Custard Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 2 Eggs
• 1.5 cups of milk
• ¼ Cup of Sugar
• Flour
• Butter
• Blind-baked crust
• 2 custard apples
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Total Cooking Duration

• 1 hr

How to prepare?

1. Melt some butter in a sauté pan at 75-80°C.
2. Add your sugar apples, and salt to the butter and let it heat for 7-10minutes.
3. When the apples soften enough, spread them nicely at the bottom of your crust.
4. Whisk eggs, salt, and ¼ cup of sugar, and pour the mixture delightfully on the crust.
5. Bake the crust in an oven for preferably 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Remove the hot crush and wait to cool down for 3 minutes before you serve it.

Related FAQs

1. I suffer from severe mood disorders. Would you recommend I eat custard apples?

Yes, I would! Cherimoya contains vital nutrients such as Vitamin B which helps create neurotransmitters. The brain heavily relies on neurotransmitters such as dopamine for mood regulation. That implies that the more Vitamin B6 in your body, the better your mood becomes.

3. I have had a painful leg inflammation for a week now. Can I count on annona reticulata for a cure?

Yes, you can! Custard apples consist of Vitamin C; a mineral with powerful anti-inflammatory properties. This compound aids in the removal of inflammatory proteins from your body hence curing your leg inflammation. However, I also recommend you visit a rheumatologist for an inflammation painkillers prescription.

4. I have been experiencing this since yesterday. Can eating annona reticulata end my suffering?

Yes, it can! I urge you to form a habit of eating custard fruit at least once a day. This fruit contains fiber; a compound that is fundamental for proper food digestion. Experts say that the digestion problem is one of the causes of chronic diarrhea.

5. Are there any side effects of eating too many custard apples?

Yes, there are! Nobody can confidently refute the fact that there are limitless sugar apple benefits. However, it’s equally factual that these fruits can trigger a few side effects. Let’s chew over some of these severe and mild side effects.

• Weight Gain: Sugar apples contain reasonable amounts of calories. For this reason, too much consumption of these creamy fruits can cause excessive weight gain.
• Hypotension: it’s common knowledge that custard apples help to lower hypertension. Overeating these fruits immensely raises the risk of getting hypotension. You do not want your blood pressure to fall way below normal.
• Itchiness: some people complain of feeling itchy and having rashes whenever they eat these fruits. In worse cases, some experience swelling lips or tongue.

6. My doctor ran a blood test on me and discovered that my immunity is too weak. What should I do?

Among the top benefits of sugar apple is that it enhances one’s immune system and the formation of collagen. Remember that a Cherimoya contains requisite nutrients such as Vitamin C which boosts immunity. Cell experts say that Vitamin C boosts multiple cellular functions. As a result, your white blood cells become strong enough to fight off disease-causing microorganisms.

7. Of late I’ve been feeling weak and fatigued. Can a custard apple be my pick-me-up?

Yes, it can be! Each sugar apple consists of over 300 mg of potassium in it. The great news is that potassium helps to eliminate muscle weakness in the body. Apart from that, this nutrient helps to enhance blood circulation in the entire body.

Consequently, all your body tissues get an adequate supply of blood. Blood supplies both oxygen and nutrients to all the body cells hence ending tiredness.

8. I am 4 months pregnant but I can’t stand nausea I experience every morning. Do you recommend Cherimoya?

Yes, I do! Cherimoya are helpful antioxidants that help lessen both nausea and morning sickness. The most intriguing part is that these fruits will aid in reducing excessive food cravings. Won’t all these Cherimoya benefits make your pregnancy experience better?

9. Do Cherimoya help one manage arthritis?

Yes, it does! Sugar apples play an unavoidable role in the constant removal of toxic acids from the joints. The magnesium contained in these fruits neutralizes the acid: hence taking the edge off the risk of getting arthritis.

10. My friend told me that custard apple leaves are nutritious. Is this correct?

Yes, it’s factual! Sugar apple leaves contain nutrients like fiber and antioxidants. These specific nutrients assist the body to lower blood sugar levels in the body. Additionally, antioxidants protect the human cells against any potential damage.

11. I read that Cherimoya are highly rich in Vitamin C. Is this nutrient beneficial to the body?

Yes, it is! A recent study revealed that each sugar apple contains between 35 to 36 Mg of Vitamin C. This particular organic compound has immense health benefits, including.

• Repairs body tissues: ascorbic is especially fundamental in the repair of worn-out body tissues. It stimulates the production of collagen that repairs all damaged body tissues.
• Prevents heart-related diseases: Vitamin C is made up of multiple antioxidants that shield the body against damage by free radicals. Unfortunately, too many free radicals trigger chronic illnesses such as heart disease and arthritis.
• Wards off respiratory diseases: some may know that vitamin boosts the body’s overall immune system. The lungs benefit significantly from a strong immune system like bacteria and other organisms don’t damage it.