First Atemoya Harvest

-The fruit a few days before it fell.

Guess what caught my eye during some leisurely yard work? A little treasure beneath the Cherimoya tree! Now, during my last farm inspection, I pondered the mysteries of harvesting this fruit.

My heart skipped a beat for a moment. You see, this little tree was a bit of an experiment. To my surprise, it decided to bear fruit, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the critters got to it before me.

After wrapping up my chores, I picked up the fruit, and to my delight, it was:

• Solid
• Heavy
• Free from bite or claw marks
• Apparently, it had fallen off the tree all on its own.

So, I did what any curious soul would do—I sliced it open. No bugs, no rot. Just a beautiful flesh with:

• A sweet and juicy taste, reminiscent of the finest pear.
• A soft, non-fibrous texture.
• A subtle tropical fruity aroma.
• A hint of tangy acidity.

A perfectly tree-ripened Cherimoya. Simply stunning!

My pardner took one look, had a taste, and declared it a fantastic Sugar Apple, just like the ones from her youth.

Sugar Apple? Hold up, what’s that? Coming from fruitless Wyoming, I’m on a crash course to tropical fruit knowledge!

-Cherimoya tree and Sugar Apple – close but not quite cherimoya.

Neither plant looked anything like the leaves or fruit on the tree in my backyard.

So, what I’ve been growing turns out to be an Atemoya, a delightful cross between these two fruits. According to Julia Morton:

The fruit is conical or heart-shaped, generally 4 inches long and 3 3/4 inches wide; some weighing as much as 5 lbs; pale bluish-green or pea-green, slightly yellowish between the areoles. The fragrant flesh is snowy-white, of fine texture, almost solid, not conspicuously divided into segments, with fewer seeds than the sugar apple; sweet and subacid at the same time, resembling the cherimoya in flavor.

Turns out we were both off the mark.

I vaguely recall chatting about Cherimoya-like fruit at the nursery, probably opting for the Atemoya for its hardiness. But those details got lost somewhere along the way. Blame it on the tropical heat, maybe? 😄

Who would’ve thought? This marks my first Atemoya harvest. The tree is a breeze to grow with minimal pests, and the fruit? Oh, it’s simply fantastic! I’m absolutely loving it.

✨

With tropical fruit delights and whimsical dreams, M 🌴