Sugar-apple

Sugar-apples, (sweetsop), raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	393 kJ (94 kcal)
Carbohydrates	23.64 g
Dietary fiber	4.4 g
Fat	0.29 g
Protein	2.06 g
Vitamins	Quantity %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
Minerals	Quantity %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
	Link to USDA Database entry
	Units; μg = micrograms • mg = milligrams; IU = International units;
	†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. ; Source: USDA FoodData Central

Michał Boym's drawing of, probably, the sugar-apple, in his Flora Sinensis (1655)

Sugar-apple with cross section

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+1⁄4–4 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 (1⁄2 to 5⁄8 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-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:

Atemoya (a hybrid between A. squamosa and A. cherimoya)
Cherimoya
Custard-apple

Gallery

Sugar apple in Tamil Nadu, India
Sugar apple (right), with Taiwanese "pineapple shijia" (atemoya) (left)
The sugar apple readily breaks open when ripe.
A deconstruction of a sugar apple, showing a lobe of fruit and pulpy segments with seeds.
A sugar apple ready to eat
Sugar-apple (Annona squamosa) seeds
Red Sugar Apples from Myanmar
Sugar apples in Taitung, Taiwan
A sugar apple in Goiânia, Brazil
Sugar Apple Tree in Philippines
Two sugar apples in Bangladesh.