Custard apple

The custard apple is surely one of the most delicious fruits found in Madagascar. Once tried, the fruit is extremely addictive and hard to resist to eat more.

The bumpy appearance of the fruit does not give away what for a treasure hides inside. The size of a custard apple varies from the size of a small apple to the size of a newborn's head. A ripe fruit is light green, turning yellow or sometimes even brownish. An almost too ripe fruit will fall apart when touched, but can still be eaten.

For consumption the custard apple is best sliced into half and eaten with a spoon. The very nutritious creamy-white pulp is soft, sometimes a bit wabbly, and extremely sweet. Whilst eating one can feel the fruit sugar crystals on the tongue. There a quite a few black seeds hiding between the fruit flesh, which cannot be eaten. Sorting out those seeds with a spoon or the tongue can be a sticky matter but is definitely worth the effort!

A custard apple is high in energy and rich of vitamin C, thiamine, potassium and magnesium. Although the fruit has a high sugar content, the glycemic index is low.

Other names for custard apple are sugar apple in English, pocanelle in French and konikony or voanjato in Malagasy.