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custard apple

 
Dictionary: custard apple
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n. In both senses also called bullock's heart.
  1. Any of several tropical American trees of the genus Annona, especially A. reticulata, having large, nearly heart-shaped edible fruits with white to yellowish flesh.
  2. The fruit of any of these trees.

[So called because its pulp resembles custard.]


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: custard apple
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Custard apple (Annona reticulata).
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Custard apple (Annona reticulata). (credit: Walter Dawn)
Any of various Annona species of shrubs or small trees of the family Annonaceae, native to the New World tropics and Florida. The family is the largest in the magnolia order and contains approximately 1,100 species of plants in 122 genera. Many species in the family are valuable for their large, pulpy fruits. Others are valued for their timber, and still others as ornamentals. Leaves and wood are often fragrant. The fruit is a berry. The small, tropical American custard apple (Annona reticulata) bears fruits with reddish-yellow, sweetish, custardlike flesh. Other species include the sweetsop (A. squamosa) and the soursop (A. muricata). Bark, leaves, and roots of many species are important in folk medicine.

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Food and Nutrition: custard apple
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The fruit of various species of tropical American trees of the family Anonaceae. Sour sop, Anona muricata, has white fibrous flesh and is less sweet than the others; the fruit may weigh up to 4 kg (8 lb). The sweet sop (A. squamosa) is also known as the ‘true’ custard apple, and is especially popular in the West Indies. The bullock's heart (A. reticulata) has buff-coloured flesh. A 100-g portion is a rich source of vitamin C and supplies 90 kcal (380 kJ).

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: custard-apple
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custard-apple, common name for members of the Annonaceae, a family of shrubs, woody vines, and small trees of the tropics. The custard-apples (Annona squamosa and A. reticulata) and other members of the family bear a soft, sweet fruit popular in the tropics and have been transplanted from the Americas to the Old World. The pawpaw, or papaw (Asimina triloba), one of the few temperate species remaining from the more extensive range of the family in the past, is a shrub or small tree of E North America which also bears a sweet edible fruit. The name pawpaw is sometimes applied to the papaya, an unrelated plant. The custard-apple family is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Magnoliales.

Wikipedia: Custard-apple
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For other uses, see Custard apple.
Annona reticulata with Black-naped Oriole in Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

The custard-apple, also called bullock's heart or bull's heart, is the fruit of the tree Annona reticulata. This tree is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree sometimes reaching 10 metres (33 ft) tall and a native of the tropical New World that prefers low elevations, and a warm, humid climate. It also occurs as feral populations in many parts of the world including Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India, Australia, and Africa.[citation needed]

The fruits are variable in shape, , oblong or irregular. The size ranges from 7 centimetres (2.8 in) to 12 centimetres (4.7 in). When ripe, the fruit is brown or yellowish, with red highlights and a varying degree of reticulation, depending on variety. The flavor is sweet and pleasant.

In some regions of the world, "custard-apple" is another name for sugar-apple or sweetsop (Annona squamosa), a different plant in the same genus. In Britain, "custard-apple" refers to cherimoya, the fruit of Annona cherimola, a third plant in the same genus.

Contents

Uses

Custard-apple
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 80-101 kJ (−5.0 kcal)
Carbohydrates 22.6 g
Dietary fibre 3.8 g
Fat 0.6 g
Protein 1.82 g
Water 68.3-80.9 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.097 mg (7%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.131 mg (9%)
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.859 mg (6%)
Vitamin C 29.7 mg (50%)
Calcium 22.3 mg (2%)
Iron .78 mg (6%)
Phosphorus 23.4 mg (3%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.
Source: Purdue New Crops Profile[1]

The fruits are tasty and nutritious but all parts of this tree can be useful.

Food
The fruit is good to eat as is but also makes a sweet drink and can be used as a milk substitute.[2]
Medicinal
The unripe fruit[1] has been used to assist against diarrhea and dysentery. The tree bark is used for skin and mucosae medicines and the seed bark contains useful tannins and astringents. The leaves are believed to have healing properties and have been used against tumors and cancers. The fruit of the plant, serves as an expectorant, stimulant, coolant, haematinic, and is useful in treating anemia. Paste of flesh of this plant or crushed leaves of the plant can be used for local application on ulcers, abscesses and boils..[2] The bark has been used on gums to relieve toothaches.[1]
Other
The leaves also provide ingredients used to make dyes, stains, inks, tattoos and mordants. The whole plant is a source of hydrogen cyanide.[2][3]
Fatty-acid methyl ester of the seed oil meets all of the major biodiesel requirements in the USA (ASTM D 6751-02, ASTM PS 121-99), Germany (DIN V 51606) and European Union (EN 14214).[citation needed]


Cultivars

Illustration of variety Areolis Angularibus.
Tikal
is of excellent quality and medium yield; its flesh is bright-red, except in the white areas surrounding the seeds.
Canul
has a medium fruit with a waxy, shiny dark-red surface and purplish red flesh; it is very aromatic and deliciously sweet with few concretions of hard cells.
Sartenaya
has a medium fruit with a waxy, shiny red surface and pink flesh with a magnificent taste and texture. Although the fruit is not as attractive in appearance as that of the previous two cultivars. the tree is sturdier.
San Pablo
has a long, large fruit with an opaque, light-red surface. The flesh is dark-pink with a good aroma and taste. It is a vigorous, productive cultivar.
Benque
has a big conical fruit with a dark-red surface and very tasty dark-pink flesh.
Caledonia
has a small fruit with a dark surface: it is very attractive to cochineal insects (Philophaedra sp.), which are not very common in other varieties. The flesh is pink and has an excellent taste.
Chonox
has a medium fruit with a red skin and juicy. very tasty pink flesh; it is very productive and, for this reason, often has low-quality fruit. It produces abundant flowers in groups of up to 16.[4]


Names in other languages

  • Arabic - shajarat il-qishṭa (شجرة القشطة)
  • Assamese - at.loch (আতলচ)
  • Chinese Mandarin - Shi-jia (釋迦)
  • Kannada - sithaphala (ಸೀತಾಫಲ)
  • Bangla - atta (আতা)
  • French - cachiman
  • Haitian Creole - kachiman
  • Hindi/Marathi - सिताफ़लSitafal/Sita's fruit
  • Indonesia - srikaya
  • Malay - buah nona
  • Malayalam - aattha chakka (chakka = fruit)
  • Marathi - Sita Fal ( सिता फळ Fal = fruit)
  • Tamil - sita pazham (சீதா பழம்)
  • Telugu - సీతాఫలంSita phalam
  • Thai - noi-na (น้อยหน่า)
  • Urdu - shareefah (شريفه)
  • Vietnamese - bình bát or mãng cầu
  • Spanish - chirimoya (Latin America) - corazón (Heart) (Puerto Rico)
  • Sinhala - aththa/anoda
  • Swahili - mkonokono
  • Tagalog - atis
  • Gujarati- Sitafal
  • Myanmar (Burmese) - Awe Zar Thee
  • Konkani - "Aatér"

References

  1. ^ a b c Morton, Julia F (1999-04-02). "Custard apple". New Crops. Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Purdue University. pp. 80–83. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/custard_apple.html. Retrieved 2008-04-16. 
  2. ^ a b c Aluka. "Entry for Annona reticulata Linn. [family ANNONACEAE]". African Plants. Ithaka Harbors, Inc. http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.AP.UPWTA.1_232&pgs=&cookieSet=1. Retrieved 2008-04-16. 
  3. ^ Mahdeem, H. (1998-07-05). "reticulata Annona reticulata". Neglected Crops. Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Purdue University. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/annonas.html#Annona reticulata. Retrieved 2008-04-16. 
  4. ^ Mahdeem, H. (1998-07-05). "reticulata Annona reticulata". Neglected Crops. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/annonas.html#Annona reticulata. Retrieved 2008-04-16. 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Custard-apple".  Read more