Custard apple, also known as Seetaphal in India, is actually a subtropical fruit belonging to the Annonacea family. The fruit grows on a small deciduous tree and is known by different names worldwide. The fruit is around 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in diameter and has a sweet and delicious taste. The shape of the fruit may be sub globose, heart shaped, ovate or conical. It has a creamy and granular textured flesh, enclosed by seeds. Skin of the fruit is thin and tough, mostly black and green in color. The fruit is native to West Indies, Central America, Peru and Mexico.
| Name | Custard apple |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Annona squamosa |
| Native | Origin is uncertain, probably indigenous to the Antilles or South Mexico. |
| Common/English Name | Custard Apple, Scaly Custard Apple, Sugar- Apple, Sweetsop, Buddha Fruit, Bullock’s Heart, Bull’s Heart, Ox Heart, Wild Sweetsop |
| Name in Other Languages | Guadeloupe: Pomme Cannelle Antilles: Pomme Cannelle Grenadines: Applebush Argentina: Cachiman Bolivia: Anon; Tahitian: Tapo Tapo Burmese: Awza Thee Chinese: Shijia Marquesan: Noni Haoe Cook Islands: Katara‘Āpa Māori Bahamas: Sweetsop Comoros: Mkonokono (Anjouan Island) Spanish: Anón Czech: Láhevník Šupinatý Portuguese: Ateira Danish: Sød Annona Pukapukan: Kātalāpa Reunion Island: Pomme Cannelle (French) Fijian: Noi-Na Netherlands Antilles: Scopappel French: Anone Écailleuse Polish: Cukrowe Jabłko Gabon: Atte Arabic: Gishta Ghana: Apre (Asante-Twi) Surinam: Kaneelappel Guatemala: Anona Brazil: Atá Japanese: Banreishi Panama: Anon Haiti: Cachiman Cannelle Tongan: ‘Apele Papalangi Papiamento: Skopapel Chamorro: Ates Indonesia: Atu Su Walanda West Africa: Pomme Cannelle (French) Dominican Republic: Anón Candonga Jamaica: Sweetsop Venezuela: Rinón Eastonian: Soomusannoona Khmer: Tiep Baay Honduras: Anona Blanca Laotian: Khièb Thai: Lanang Dutch: Kannelappel Malaysia: Buah Nona Costa Rica: Anon Mali: Tubabu Sunsun (Bambara) Columbia: Chirimoya Verrugosa Nepal: Shariiphaa French Guiana: Pomme Cannelle Nicaragua: Anona De Guatemala Italian: Mela Canella Pakistan: Sharifa (Urdu) Tuvaluan: Nameana Mauritius: Atta Hungarian: Gyömbéralma Palauan: Ngel Ra Ngebard Tanzania: Mastaferi (Swahili) Madagascar: Konikony Persian: Kaj Vietnamese: Mang Câú Ta Philippines: Ates India: Atakathal Puerto Rico: Anón German: Rahmapfel Rotuman: Fat Manaova Mexico: Ahate Ecuador: Chirimoya Swahili: Mastaferi El Salvador: Anona De Castilla Taiwan: Sakya Cuba: Anón Niuean: Talapo |
| Plant Growth Habit | Small, semi-deciduous tree |
| Growing Climate | Requires a tropical or sub-tropical climate with summer temperatures |
| Soil | Tolerates a wide variety of soils. It has performed well on sand, oolitic limestone, heavy loam with good drainage and in rich, well-drained, deep rocky soils. But it prefers friable, sandy loams |
| Plant Size | 3–8 m |
| Trunk | Curved or spreading trunk 10 to 14 inches thick. |
| Leaf | Alternate, simple, petiolate (4–22 mm long). Lamina narrowly elliptic to oblong or lanceolate, 5–17 × 2.5–6 cm, base broadly cuneate to rounded, apex acute to obtuse; surfaces glaucous and pale green, abaxially variably pubescent, adaxially glabrous. |
| Flower | Greenish-yellow, fragrant with hairy, green, triangular sepals about 16 mm long. |
| Fruit Shape & Size | Sub globose, heart shaped, ovate or conical, 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in diameter and 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) long, muricate with many round protuberances; |
| Fruit Color | Greenish-yellow (or pinkish- purple in a purplish cultivar) when ripe |
| Fruit Skin | Thin but tough |
| Flesh Color | Creamy white |
| Fruit Weight | 100–240 g (3.5–8.5 oz) |
| Fruit Taste | Sweet and slightly tangy |
| Seed | Blackish or dark brown seed, ellipsoid to obovoid, 1–1.4 cm, shiny and smooth. |
| Season | October to May |
| Varieties/Types |
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| Major Nutrition | Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) 90.8 mg (100.89%) Selenium, Se 1.5 mg (65.22%) Carbohydrate 59.1 g (45.46%) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 0.5 mg (38.46%) Total dietary Fiber 11 g (28.95%) Copper, Cu 0.215 mg (23.89%) Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 0.275 mg (22.92%) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.282 mg (21.69%) Iron, Fe 1.5 mg (18.75%) Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 2.208 mg (13.80%) Potassium, K 618 mg (13.15%) Magnesium, Mg 52 mg (12.38%) Phosphorus, P 80 mg (11.43%) Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) 0.565 mg (11.30%) Protein 5.15 g (10.30%) |
| Health Benefits |
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| Calories in 1 cup (250 gm) | 235 K cal |