2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Cherimoya (lat. Annona cherimola) - a fruit tree belonging to the Annonovye family with edible fruits.
Description
Cherimoya is a rather interesting tree, growing up to five to nine meters up and covered with two-row leaves, four to nine centimeters wide and seven to fifteen centimeters long.
Cherimoya flowers are located on short pedicels along the branches. All of them are formed by three rather fleshy outer petals and three slightly smaller inner petals.
Complex, clearly segmented fruits are characterized by a conical or heart-shaped shape and contain about two dozen shiny black seeds. The fibrous-creamy pulp of the fruit is colored white and has an extremely pleasant aroma. The weight of these fruits can vary from half a kilogram to three kilograms, with each fruit reaching ten centimeters in width and ten to twenty centimeters in length.
Cherimoya begins to bear fruit in the fourth or fifth year. By the way, the cherimoya tree is sometimes called the “ice cream tree”. It received such an interesting name for the very peculiar look and taste of the fruit. Indeed, if you freeze cherimoya, its taste and texture will be very reminiscent of ice cream. For this, the fruits are sometimes called "cream apples".
Where grows
The foothills of the Andes of Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador are considered the birthplace of cherimoya. By the way, this fruit was known in Peru since the days of the Incas.
Cherimoya is now grown in Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, as well as Argentina and Brazil. Thickets of this culture can also be found in cool regions of Central America, the Antilles, California and southern Florida. And outside the New World, cherimoya is grown in Eritrea, Somalia, South Africa, as well as in India, Australia and the Mediterranean. At the same time, the most solid harvests are harvested in Portugal and Spain.
Application
Ripe cherimoya is most often eaten fresh. Correctly eat it like this: the fruits are cut into two parts, and then the pulp is removed from each part with a spoon. In addition, cherimoya is often added to salads, as well as soft drinks, sorbets and ice cream are prepared with its addition. And the juice of ripe fruits is fermented for the subsequent preparation of alcoholic beverages.
As for cherimoya seeds, they cannot be eaten, as they can cause irreparable harm to the digestive system.
Cherimoya has a rather low calorie content - 100 g of this fruit contains only 74 kcal. In addition, it is characterized by a high wateriness - every 100 grams of the pulp of these fruits contains about 79 grams of water. This fruit is an excellent solution for those who want to eat something sweet without gaining weight.
Crushed and lightly toasted cherimoya seeds are a very powerful emetic. Seed powder combined with fat is used to fight skin parasites and lice. In order to cope with lice, an alcohol solution is also prepared. Also, cherimoya has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the stomach and liver and helps prevent the development of tumor processes. And to cope with food poisoning, dried cherimoya is ground into powder and two tablespoons of the resulting powder are consumed.
In South America, cherimoya leaves and bark are used to make a relaxing and soothing tea that helps improve digestion and has a mild laxative effect.
Dangerous properties
In no case should you eat poisonous cherimoya seeds. It is equally important to make sure that her juice does not get into the eyes - this can lead to blindness.
And diabetics need to use cherimoya with extreme caution, as it is rich in carbohydrates and sugar. It is not recommended to eat these fruits and with individual intolerance.
