Sugar Apple Fruit Facts
The sugar apple (Annona squamosa) is a tropical fruit with a sweet flesh that looks much like custard. They are grown in several areas including Florida, Hawaii, China, Australia, tropical Egypt, Palestine and India. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Varieties
-
Sugar apple fruits may be conical, heart-shaped or round, and average 2 to 5 inches in diameter. Some, like the Crimson, have pink flesh. The Mammoth produces a lopsided shaped fruit with a green rind and soft, white, sweet pulp. The Washington cultivar produces tuberculate rind segments and yellow to orange colored fruit.
Uses
-
In general, sugar apples are never cooked for food purposes. The fruit is opened and the flesh is scooped out. The flesh of the fruit is often used in ice creams and desserts. The seeds, which are toxic, are always discarded. Parts of the fruit and plant are also used as insecticides or for medicinal purposes, however, this practice may not be safe.
-
Nutritional Information
-
Vitamins in sugar apples include carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid. The fruit is high in carbohydrates and also includes protein, fiber, phosphorous and calcium. The sugar content averages about 14.58 percent and is 50 percent glucose and 50 percent sucrose.
Toxicity
-
The seeds of the sugar apple are acrid and toxic. They are ground into powder and used as insecticides in India. Paste made from ground seeds is also used to kill head lice. This paste can cause blindness and when applied to the uterus will result in fetal abortion. Several toxic elements have been identified in the bark, leaves and roots of the sugar apple tree as well.
-
