The Cherimoya, also known as the cinnamon or sugar apple, is one of the exotic fruits that is rarely offered in supermarkets. With a bit of luck, you can harvest fruit from your own plant. How to tell when a cherimoya is ripe.
How do I know when a cherimoya is ripe?
A cherimoya is ripe when it is brownish in color, has soft flesh and the fruit stalk is easy to pull out. Harvest it when it gives slightly and enjoy its creamy, sweet flesh.
When is the cherimoya ripe?
It takes time until the fruits are ready to harvest. It's only in autumn and winter that you can pick cherimoyas from the tree.
This is how you recognize ripe cherimoyas
- Brownish color
- Soft flesh
- Easy pull-out fruit stem
The fruits only develop their typical taste when they are fully ripe. To check if the pulp is soft, press the fruit lightly. If it gives a little, it is ripe and can be eaten.
The peel is edible
Unlike many other exotic fruits, the cherimoya peel is edible and does not need to be peeled.
The cores, on the other hand, contain poisonous alkaloids and must be triggered. Remove them from the flesh and grow your own Cherimoya tree on the patio.
Allow maturation
Cherimoyas can be harvested several days before they are fully ripe. They ripen well at a temperature of around twelve degrees. However, you should only eat the fruits when they are soft and the peel is browned.
How to prepare cherimoyas
The creamy and very sweet flesh is low in acid and changes color when exposed to air. Drizzle sliced fruit with a little lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Halve the fruit and cut a cross into it, then the grainy flesh of the cherimoya can be spooned straight out of the peel.
The fruits are very tasty in fruit salads and as sweet cherimoya cream, which is served as a dessert. To do this, cut the fruit into small pieces and beat it with eggs, sugar, rum and cream into a cream. It then needs to be cooled.
An insider tip among gourmets is cherimoya with ham and horseradish.
Tips & Tricks
If you want to harvest cherimoyas from your container plant, you will need to pollinate the plant yourself. This is quite complicated as the flowers are male in the evening and female in the morning. Use a brush to remove the pollen from the male flower in the evening, keep it cool and transfer it to a female flower in the morning.
