Cherimoya is grown in Central America, South Asia, Southern California, and the south of Italy. It is about the size of a grapefruit. It is green when you get it at the store. When you get it home, set it on the counter to ripen until brown.
Ripening cherimoya is basically pretty simple. It is just kept at room temperature on the kitchen counter, and it will be ripe and ready to eat about seven days after it was picked. Cherimoya is ready to eat when it softens and the skin turns brown. If in doubt, it should be allowed to ripen further. It’s better for it to be a little over ripe than a little under ripe. After ripening, cherimoya can be kept for several days in the refrigerator. It should not be put in the refrigerator before ripe.
After it is ripe, put in fridge for a few hours or more to chill. When chilled, you can cut cherimoya in half, scoop out seeds and enjoy the white creamy inside with a spoon. The burst of flavor taste so sweet and tropical it was actually confusing my taste buds. It was almost like a bubble gum flavor with a burst of pineapple, banana, apple, and cotton candy. It was wonderful! I craved more.
I decided to go on a manhunt to find these cherimoyas since they were new to me and I didn’t remember seeing them at the grocery store. I was surprised to find that my local grocery store like Whole Foods and Central Market. They are quite pricey but worth it.
After much research, I learned that this fruit has been found to act against cancer and malaria. There are so many great health benefits of this wonderful fruit. It is one of the highest antioxidant levels and vitamin C, great for anti-aging and cell repair too.
You can eat it room temperature, cold, frozen, in smoothies, and use it in baking. I decided to experiment with this fruit and try a cherimoya smoothie. I am not kidding when I say this-It was to die for! I couldn’t wait until my next smoothie. So here is my recipe…
CHERIMOYA SMOOTHIE
2 cherimoya’s (remove seeds and skin)
1 frozen banana
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon flax oil
1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior protein powder
Blend and enjoy!
I hope you get a chance to try this wonderful fruit. You will absolutely love the sweet burst of flavor!
Marzia
