In this tropical and exotic fruit review, you will learn all about the amazing soursop, where it comes from, its health benefits, how to eat it, and what it tastes like. This is one incredibly amazing fruit. It may just be my favorite fruit in the Annonaceae family of fruits, which includes fruits like Cherimoya, Atemoya, Custard apple, and Rollinia. Let’s get on with the information!
Where does Soursop or Guanabana come from and grow?
The Soursop (Annona muricata) also known as the Graviola, Guyabano, Guanabana, Sirsak, Corossol, and Pawpaw, is native to South and Central America, places like Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and grows in other tropical regions in the world including the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico, southeast asia, and in the mainland United States it grows in Florida.
The soursop tree is an evergreen tree that grows up to 30 feet high with a spread ranging from 10 to 25 feet wide. They are considered moderate growers as far as how fast they grow. And if you like, they can also be grown successfully in containers.
The soursop fruit itself is fairly large and heavy. They love warm tropical climates with nutrient-rich soil that is well draining and at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day.
What are the health benefits?
The soursop has many health benefits. Here are a handful of them:
- High in antioxidants
- Help fight bacteria
- Could reduce inflammation
- May stabilize blood sugars
- It may help kill cancer cells, although there is not enough research to support this claim
- It may help fight against heart disease
- Soursop extract is used in medicinal cases. With the above benefits.
Find more health benefits here at Healthline.
How to eat a soursop or guanabana?
First, how do you tell when it is ripe? Most likely, when you buy it, it will be all green and fairly firm. It will ripen on the counter after a few days. It should be very soft and yellowish with some brown spots when it is ripe.
To eat it, just cut the fruit in half. Do not eat the seeds and do not eat the skin. Most people will scoop out the white creamy flesh with a spoon and eat it that way.
People like to eat it plain or also put it in smoothies, drinks, desserts, etc.
What does soursop taste like?
Now you may be wondering what the soursop or guanabana tastes like? You are in for a real treat with this fruit. The flavor profile is quite amazing. It has a pleasant, sweet flavor and tang to it and tastes kind of like a combination of strawberries and apples, with a hint of citrus, and has a very juicy and creamy texture. Some other people describe it as tasting like a blend of banana, pineapple, mango, and coconut, with a bit of strawberry. No wonder I love this fruit so much, it tastes like a combination of many things I love.
There you go, I hope you enjoyed learning more about this amazing fruit. Let me know if you have tried it and if you like it or not.
Check out this video I made of this incredible fruit!
