According to Mark Twain, cherimoya is “the most delicious fruit known to men.” That’s because the cherimoya has a distinct sweet and creamy flesh that earned it the moniker “custard apple”. The cherimoya is a sizable, green heart-shaped fruit with a beautifully scaly outer peel native to Columbia, Peru and Bolivia. Cherimoya is cultivated throughout North, South and Central America.

On the outside, the cherimoya has a distinctive skin that’s green with large dragon-like “scales” that give them another legendary nickname “dragon apple”. Inside, the ripened fruit has custardy, white flesh with inedible black seeds that must be discarded before eating. The flesh tastes like nature's creamy, custardy tropical pudding with flavors of banana, papaya, pear, pineapple and coconut!

The skin and seeds of the cherimoya are inedible. To use the custard apple in your recipes, be sure to remove and discard cherimoya seeds and peel before eating.

If you’re wondering how to eat cherimoya, check out FruitStand’s collection of cherimoya recipes (like this delicious Cherimoya Smoothie Bowl recipe) for more ideas on how to eat this beloved fruit. In short, we recommend slicing open the cherimoya into halves and scooping out the flesh. Once you’ve removed the large, toxic seeds you can enjoy the raw fruit as is or in some of your favorite recipes.

Of all the weird fruits that we bring to you through our specialty farm partners, cherimoya has got to be the all time kid favorite! Kids love the unusual look of the cherimoya, and go bananas over the tropical and creamy flavor. Send us your “first cherimoya” reaction videos on instagram @fruitstandcom!