2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Guanabana (lat. Annona) - an exotic fruit, often called sour cream apple, annona prickly or graviola.
Description
Guanabana is the most valuable evergreen fruit tree belonging to the Annonov family. The height of each tree can reach from eight to ten meters, and their crowns are very rich in shiny and smooth green fragrant leaves. Young shoots of the plant can boast of a fairly strong pubescence.
On the short stalks of guanabana, single shoots of flowers are formed, which subsequently grow directly on tree trunks. All flowers have six petals and are characterized by a conical shape.
The weight of oval or rounded guanabana fruit varies from three to seven kilograms. Their bright green surfaces with a slight yellowish tint are densely dotted with appendages that look like soft bells. As for the dimensions of the fruit, the width of the largest specimens can reach twenty centimeters, and the length is from ten to forty centimeters. The peel of the fruit is thin, but at the same time surprisingly dense.
The flesh of guanabana is white and rather soft, somewhat similar to cotton wool and divided into several independent segments, and its taste vaguely resembles citro with an incredibly pleasant sourness or raspberries in combination with lemon. The ripeness of the fruit is determined very simply - such fruits are easily squeezed through with your fingers. It is also important to know that the black seeds contained in the guanabana pulp are very poisonous, so they are strictly forbidden to eat! If you ignore this rule, you can get the strongest poisoning of the body. And if the juice from these seeds gets into the eyes, a person may even go blind.
It is impossible not to mention that this culture is in a kinship with ylang-ylang, which is why their aromas are somewhat similar.
Where grows
You can taste guanabana when traveling to Argentina, Peru, Mexico or the Bahamas. Periodically, it is found in Bermuda, as well as in China (mainly in the southern part of the country), India and Australia.
Application
Guanabana fruits are actively used to obtain all kinds of extracts, nectars and juices. Their surprisingly juicy pulp makes them ideal raw materials for making sherbets, jams, jellies and even sweets, and milkshakes with guanabana juice are incredibly popular in Latin America. In addition, these fruits make excellent desserts, and they go well with whipped cream or ice cream. These fruits are very rich in vitamins C and B, which contribute to the healing of neuralgic pathologies and are excellent for helping with various ailments of the bone tissue. In addition, each fruit contains such valuable elements as calcium and phosphorus, as well as magnesium and iron, which saturate the human body with the most useful amino acids. And a fairly high percentage of carbohydrates and proteins makes guanabana one of the most nutritious fruits. By the way, with its help it will not be difficult to cure dystrophy in young children.
Valuable macro- and microelements in guanabana help prevent the development of oncology, and also actively contribute to the healing of liver and colon diseases, arthritis, rheumatism and gout. As for the guanabana extract, it will serve well for various viral ailments. It also helps to get rid of skin fungus and malaria.
Contraindications
Excessive consumption of these fancy fruits can lead to the development of Parkinson's disease. And it is better for pregnant women to refuse them altogether - the excess calcium in guanaban can adversely affect their body.
