Soursop is a tropical fruit with a green, spiny exterior and fibrous white interior containing a single hard black seed. It is popular for its versatile uses in drinks, desserts, and even as a vegetable in some countries. Soursops are believed to have medicinal properties and require warm, humid climates to thrive.
An evergreen native to the West Indies, the soursop tree is known for the large and versatile fruit it produces. Soursops are very popular around the world, but are rarely found fresh outside of the tropical areas where they are grown.
A member of the Cherimoya family, the soursop tree is short and bushy, generally reaching 25-30 feet (7.62-9.14 m) tall. Its large heart-shaped fruits ripen during summer and autumn and can weigh up to 6.8 kg. The green, leathery skin of the soursop is inedible and covered in flexible spines, which protect the fibrous white segments of acidic fruit inside. Each fertile segment contains a single hard black seed; a soursop can contain anywhere from a few dozen to 200 seeds.
Soursop requires a warm, humid climate to thrive. Originally grown in the West Indies and tropical America, it is now grown in the Bahamas, Southeast China, Australia and West Africa. In the continental United States, soursop can survive in the southernmost parts of Florida, and only if carefully protected from freezing temperatures during the winter months.
The flesh of the soursop is tart, but the less acidic and stringy fruit than most can be cut into sections and eaten with a spoon or torn apart and used in fruit salads. Most commonly, the pulp is pressed and strained to extract the juice, which is then sweetened and used in many drinks, ice creams and sorbets. An electric blender can be used to process the pulp, but care must be taken to remove all seeds from the fruit first, as they are toxic.
Soursops are extremely versatile. A puree made by processing the white pulp with sugar freezes well and can be used in a variety of dessert recipes. The soursop pulp can also be canned and exported for commercial use. In Indonesia, immature soursops are cooked as a vegetable. In Brazil, they are roasted or fried.
In many countries, soursops are also believed to have medicinal properties. The diuretic effects of the ripe fruit are commonly used as a remedy for urethritis. The sap from the leaves is also believed to have healing properties and can be used as a poultice to relieve swelling and eczema.
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