Biology:Sugar-apple

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Short description: Species of fruit
Michał Boym's drawing of, probably, the sugar-apple, in his Flora Sinensis (1655)
Sugar-apple with cross section
Sugar apple on tree.jpg

The sugar-apple or sweet-sop is the edible fruit of Annona squamosa,[1] the most widely grown species of Annona and a native of tropical climate in the Americas and West Indies. Spanish traders aboard the Manila galleons docking in the Philippines brought it to Asia.[2] The fruit is spherical-conical, 5–10 centimetres (2–4 inches) in diameter and 6–10 cm (2 14–4 in) long, and weighing 100–240 grams (3.5–8.5 ounces), with a thick rind composed of knobby segments. The color is typically pale green through blue-green, with a deep pink blush in certain varieties, and typically has a bloom. It is unique among Annona fruits in being segmented; the segments tend to separate when ripe, exposing the interior.

The flesh is fragrant and sweet, creamy white through light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. It is found adhering to 13-to-16-millimetre-long (12 to 58 in) seeds forming individual segments arranged in a single layer around a conical core. It is soft, slightly grainy, and slippery. The hard, shiny seeds may number 20–40 or more per fruit and have a brown to black coat, although varieties exist that are almost seedless.[2][3] The seeds can be ground for use as an insecticide.[1]

There are also new varieties being developed in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The atemoya or "pineapple sugar-apple", a hybrid between the sugar-apple and the cherimoya, is popular in Taiwan, although it was first developed in the United States in 1908. The fruit is similar in sweetness to the sugar-apple but has a very different taste. As its name suggests, it tastes like pineapple.

Nutrition and uses

Sugar-apples, (sweetsop), raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy393 kJ (94 kcal)
23.64 g
Dietary fiber4.4 g
0.29 g
2.06 g
VitaminsQuantity %DV
Thiamine (B1)
10%
0.11 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
9%
0.113 mg
Niacin (B3)
6%
0.883 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
5%
0.226 mg
Vitamin B6
15%
0.2 mg
Folate (B9)
4%
14 μg
Vitamin C
44%
36.3 mg
MineralsQuantity %DV
Calcium
2%
24 mg
Iron
5%
0.6 mg
Magnesium
6%
21 mg
Manganese
20%
0.42 mg
Phosphorus
5%
32 mg
Potassium
5%
247 mg
Sodium
1%
9 mg
Zinc
1%
0.1 mg

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Sugar-apple is high in energy, an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese, a good source of thiamine and vitamin B6, and provides vitamin B2, B3 B5, B9, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium in fair quantities.[4]

For uses of other fruit from the Custard-apple family see:

Gallery

Names

Custard Apple is known by different names throughout South, East and Southeast Asia.

  • Tamil: சீத்தாப்பழம் (Seethapazham)
  • Bengali: আতা (Aata)
  • Bhojpuri: शरीफ़ा (Shareefa)
  • Gujarati: સીતાફળ (Seetaphal)
  • Hindi: सीताफल (Seetaphal)
  • Kannada:ಸೀತಾಫಲ (Seetaphal)
  • Malayalam: സീതഫലം (Seetaphazham)
  • Marathi: सीताफळ (Seetaphaḷa)
  • Urdu: شریفہ (Shareefa)
  • Tetum: Ai-ata
  • Tagalog: Atis

See also

References

External links

| mode = cs1 | title = Annona squamosa | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?3503 | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = }}