Guanabana
Graviola, sour cream apple, annona prickly are all different names for the same tropical fruit plant, guanabana. Perhaps in our country it is not so famous, but it is well known in Bermuda and the Bahamas, it is eaten by residents of the Caribbean and Latin America. And after the inhabitants of other continents appreciated the taste of this exotic fruit, it began to be grown in India, Sri Lanka, China, Australia and Southeast Asia.
Guanabana is a strange plant. It is enough to imagine a tree as high as a two-story house, dotted with huge fruits up to 35 cm in length and weighing up to 7 kg, which cover not only the branches, but also the trunk in abundance. Moreover, the tree blooms several times a year, exuding an aroma everywhere, comparable to ylang-ylang and vanilla. What are the gastronomic and medicinal properties of guanabana?
Guanabana fruit outside and inside
In the world of exotics, appearances are always deceiving - if you saw the green prickly fruit of a soursop, you might not even consider it edible. But, nevertheless, guanabana fruits have a unique taste and unusual appearance. In size, they can be compared with an average melon, only unlike it, the sour cream apple is covered with huge soft thorns. The unripe fruits of guanabana have a rich green color and hard flesh, but as they ripen they turn yellow and become so tender and soft that they are damaged if dropped. For this reason, they are harvested and sold immature. Inexperienced tourists taste the fruit right after the purchase and are disappointed because the unripe guanabana fruit tastes no better than raw pumpkin. However, it is worth letting it ripen at room temperature, as it turns yellow and acquires its unique taste. To make sure,that the fruit is ripe, press on it with your finger - if the surface is soft, the sour cream can be eaten. In general, the guanabana fruit can be stored for 2-3 days in the refrigerator or at room temperature, its yellowed peel may turn black, as happens with a ripe banana, but the pulp does not soon lose its taste and useful properties. Inside, the ripe guanabana fruit is lined with a pulp that resembles a custard in consistency, the inside of the fruit is divided into several dozen segments, each of which contains a seed that looks like persimmon seeds. It is considered poisonous and is usually removed.as happens with a ripe banana, but the pulp does not soon lose its taste and useful properties. Inside, the ripe guanabana fruit is lined with a pulp that resembles a custard in consistency, the inside of the fruit is divided into several dozen segments, each of which contains a seed that looks like persimmon seeds. It is considered poisonous and is usually removed.as it happens with a ripe banana, but the pulp does not soon lose its taste and useful properties. Inside, the ripe guanabana fruit is lined with a pulp that resembles a custard in consistency, the inside of the fruit is divided into several dozen segments, each of which contains a seed that looks like persimmon seeds. It is considered poisonous and is usually removed.
Guanabana, according to gourmets, is cut in half and eaten with spoons like a grapefruit or cut into slices like a watermelon. If you taste a ripe sour cream apple at least once, you will not forget its incomparable taste. Reviews about guanabana, or rather about the taste of this fruit, differ somewhat. Some people compare it with sour lemonade with a hint of strawberries, others with pineapple, strawberries and citrus. Guanabana is a rather high-calorie delicacy - 100 g of raw product have an energy value of 94 kcal. But at the same time, guanabana, according to reviews, does not harm the figure.
Benefits of guanabana
It is no coincidence that this fruit is called sour cream - guanabana in tropical America is as common as apples in our latitudes and, in addition to its pleasant taste, has a rich vitamin and mineral composition. The fruits of guanabana contain choline, vitamins B2, B5, B6, B9, C, PP. The highest concentration of trace elements is zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, iron, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium.
Like the apple of our latitudes, the sour cream apple from Latin America has a beneficial effect on the intestines. The beneficial properties of guanabana are noted in improving liver function, normalizing stomach acidity, and excreting uric acid. It is believed that, in spite of its calorie content, soursop helps to reduce weight, and due to its high content of B vitamins, it can be used in the complex therapy of degenerative diseases of the spine and ailments of a neurological nature.
Guanabana extract has a universal antiseptic properties, it can be used as antiviral, antimalarial, antifungal and antiparasitic agent. Although guanabana seeds are considered poisonous, the oil obtained from them is used as a natural anti-lice remedy. The roots of the plant are used as a sedative and antispasmodic, and tea from the leaves has a hypnotic effect.
Sour cream myths
Anti-cancer properties have recently been actively attributed to the fruits of guanabana, which causes an unhealthy stir around the fruits of this tree. According to some reports, it is believed that soursop extract destroys malignant cells of 12 types of cancer, including cancer of the prostate, breast, lungs, pancreas, colon. Due to the fact that among the useful properties of guanabana unexpectedly turned out to be an anticancer effect, a variety of expensive dietary supplements have appeared on the domestic pharmaceutical market, containing the extract of these fruits. However, the instructions for such drugs do not say anything about anticancer properties; such biological supplements are positioned as a source of flavonoids and vitamins.
Of course, like any other product, guanabana has contraindications. For example, because of the high calcium content, soursop pulp is not recommended for pregnant women; abuse of the fruit, according to Latin American scientists, can lead to Parkinson's disease. The seeds of this exotic fruit, eaten, can cause poisoning, and if the juice from the seeds gets into the eyes, it can cause blindness in some cases.
However, one wonderful property of guanabana fruits for sure is a delicate sweet taste. The ripe guanabana pulp, separated from the seeds, is used in the preparation of desserts in combination with sugar and cream, refreshing and low-alcohol drinks, and the extract is used to flavor tea. Be that as it may, it is worth trying this amazing fruit.
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