A small size Guanábana

Continuing with the ‘everything-is-bigger-in-Colombia’ series, this post features the king of all tropical fruits – guanábana.

Its size simply astounds; its delicately sweet fragrant, mesmerises; its creamy texture, satisfies. Simply amazing.

First time I saw the fruit, it was among the mountain of guanábana, on one of these fruit trucks that loom the streets. The heap of guanábana formed a little knoll because this stuff is no common fruit. Its size is that of a durian (although for durian-haters, don’t worry, guanábana doesn’t have the same haunting smell) and can reach the scale of a jackfruit.

Guanábana being dissected – see how the size compares to that of a cup, and guavas

The second time I saw it, was at home, seeing it when it was dissected, with all the seeds and the interior structure. I was shocked to know that it was actually a Custard apple! A Custard apple that comes from the giant tropics! Really impressed.

However, upon tasting, it doesn’t taste like a Custard apple. Rather, it’s a little acidic and has a lighter tint of sweetness. The texture is smoother than the lumpiness of sugary crystals that you can sometimes get in a Custard Apple.  However, people with problems with sliminess may find its slimy mucus slightly overbearing.. Its creaminess lends itself as a great ingredient to juices and smoothies.

Upon further investigation, it turned out that it wasn’t the Colombian Custard apple that I had thought, but a variant of the family..

Still impressed though.

Guanábana ready to be served – here with cream and prunes