The Custard Apple

Custard Apples, as they are!

Custard apples or cherimoyas as they are also known are the natives of South America and the West Indies and can be seen growing on large shrubs on the slopes of the Andes mountains and also grown in parts of Asia. Its extremities are numerous. They are generally on the expensive side as ripe custard apples are impossible to transport, thanks to their soft and fleshy exteriors. Since they squash easily, and are an absolute torture to cut open, they are a fruit people don’t fancy much. High on calcium, niacin and iron, the custard apple contains approximately 20 seeds per fruit that are difficult to de-seed and are extremely high on calories.

These heart shaped fruits, with their unusual skin that resembles scales, are rather ugly, at first. When pale green they are unripe and at this stage they are really hard and impossible to cut into half. The method to select these fruits is when their skin develops brown patches. In fact it almost feels from their exterior that they have become over ripe but in actuality they are just right for being devoured.

Properties

Since it is a fruit that can be converted into many forms of edible items, they are generally popular amongst desserts. Rich in taste this is one fruit that can be exceptionally useful for conditions like low blood pressure with its natural sugars and exceptional taste. Its high caloric and addictive taste can be found amongst many who swear by it.

The fruit is easiest to cut when ripe. The custard apple can also be transformed into a refreshing drink during the warmer seasons. A complete food, it shares its taste with a mesh of pineapples and bananas with a delicious vanilla overtone. For people who seek to gain weight or for those suffering from hyper thyroidism, especially the ones who cannot seem to put on sufficient weight, the custard apple with a mixture of honey is the most obvious choice.

For weight watchers, the green color is more of a danger signal though! Each fruit contains (roughly) no less than over a 100 calories if you’re counting them. Most of these fruits are available between the months of July through April. An excessive dose of custard apples can also lead you to mild diarrhea. Hence it is best teamed up with milk in the form of a milkshake. If you really need the calories in your diet, then there’s no point to wait, but if not then its best left to its original self.

These fruits were consumed by the early inhabitants in Asia, as they treaded along with their cattle in search for greener pastures. There are some diets that are formed today keeping in mind the high caloric point, along with bananas, interestingly for people who intend on maintaining or sometimes losing weight. Since this fruit is a complete food in itself, it makes more sense for promoters of accurate eating to include this as a diet for one of the days as the nutritive value of this fruit is retained making a person get the complete feeling of having eaten something as against the concept of dieting. But all in all a fruit that needs a bit of research before allowing it to enter your system.