Week 21: Cherimoya

Cherimoya is one interesting fruit. Native to several South American countries, it not only has seeds that can be used as insecticide, bark that contains an extract that can induce paralysis if injected, but it tastes like candy!

The inner part of the fruit has a creamy texture. It’s really sweet and tastes slightly like bananas, but a candied version (Russ compared them to banana Runts). Other people have said they taste like bubblegum or pineapple.

Look for green fruits that yield slightly to light pressure (much like an avocado). The fruits I had were a bit overripe (very soft to touch) so I used them right away. You should let them ripen at room temperature, as storing them in refridgerator will make them turn brown after a couple of days.

Cherimoyas are high in fiber and vitamin C. They are great eaten plain (don’t eat the seeds or skin) and also make delicious sorbet, frozen yogurt, smoothies, and are an interesting addition to fruit salad. Here I’ve made a frozen yogurt out of 2 cherimoyas, which yieled about 3/4 of pulp. The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make more servings. Adding plain yogurt to the mix instead of making a sorbet cut down the sweetness so it’s not overwhelming. The frozen yogurt is still sweet, but also slightly tangy and tastes very tropical.

Cherimoya Frozen Yogurt

Makes 1 serving

• 3/4 C cherimoya pulp (from 2 cherimoyas)
• 1/4 C plain yogurt
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 T honey

Remove seeds and place pulp in food processor. Blend until smooth and add yogurt, lemon juice and honey. Blend for a minute to combine and add more lemon juice or honey if needed.

Place mixture into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.