Cherimoya: The Ice Cream Fruit

It’s the middle of summer and it’s hot – all we want is to be able to eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But we have an even better alternative to eating all of those unwanted (yet absolutely delicious) calories: try the “ice cream fruit” native to the Andes Mountains – a cherimoya!

Looks can be deceiving and a cherimoya is no exception. Cherimoya, which means “cold seed” in Quecha, pays homage to its tolerance for chilly temperatures at high altitudes. If you’re out exploring in the wilderness of the Andes in the dead of winter (which we wouldn’t necessarily recommend), you might be able to spot a cherimoya hanging from the trees. As winter is the harvest time for this sweet fruit, it ripens similar to an avocado – rock hard at first and then it suddenly softens.

For those of you with a healthy sweet tooth (is that possible?), we say try a cherimoya. Taking shape somewhat similar to a pear or abstract strawberry, hanging from trees like apples, and having a scaley appearance and tart lemony flavor, cherimoya is not a fruit we’ve tried before – but we’re certainly interested. Often served chilled and eaten with a spoon, it’s no wonder it’s nicknamed the ice cream fruit! Apparently, it’s the equivalent to a tropical sherbert – some say it’s a combination of pear, banana, and lemon; essentially a tropical vacation in your mouth. Chile Native Isabel Barkman, a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers, begs to differ: “I say it tastes like heaven. The cherimoya tastes like cherimoya. It’s creamy. It’s incedible. Nothing tastes like it.”

Photos via

If you’re in California, you’re in luck! Based on our research, there is a an annual taste testing at the South Coast Research and Extension Center. Barkman helped organize the first tasting in 2012, where participants could rate  the cherimoya based on exterior attractiveness, texture, flavor, and overall quality. Let’s not forget that visitors had fifteen varieties to choose from: Big Sister, Booth, Chaffey, Deliciosa, Ecuador, El Bumpo, Fino de Jete, Ludica, Nata, Orton, Oxhart, Pierce, Santa Rosa, Selma and Whaley. According to Barkman, El Bumpo produces the largest fruits. However, not all can be sold in stores; El Bumpo’s skin is too soft for commercial production, so the chances of finding it in your local grocery store are slim to none.

Are you hooked? If you need a little more convincing to try this delicious fruit, check out some of the health benefits:

– Cherimoya is sweet – and it still contains a ton of essential nutrients, vitamins, anti-oxidants, and minerals.

– It has calories similar to that of manoes (100 g of fresh pulp is about 75 calories). But have no fear! There are no saturated fats of cholesterol, and there is a good amount of dietary fiber.

– It has Vitamin C and Vitamin B complexes! Seriously, it’s Vitamin C galore. As a powerful natural antioxidant, it is great for your body, helping it resist infectious agents and all sorts of illnesses. Vitamin B-6 (aka pyridoxine) helps keep up the GABA neuro chemical in the brain, which calms nervous irritability, tension, and headaches. (Sign us up!)

Have you ever eaten a cherimoya? What do you think?