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) is a delicious fruit. It has a pale green skin ridged with bumps that might seem a little intimidating at first but once you realize how tasty the creamy, white flesh inside is, you'll want to enjoy these fruits regularly when in season. Ideal for eating as a snack or added to fruit salad or other cold dessert dishes, by choosing the custard apple at its best, you'll be assured of an enjoyable feast.
Choosing Custard Apples
Look for the color first. The sign of a good quality, ripe custard apple is a pale green tone across the fruit. This indicates it is ready to eat. If the fruit is a darker green, this indicates that it is unripe; it is still good to buy but needs ripening at home. African Pride may have a light yellow tinge as well as pale green. Avoid fruit that has black or purple coloring, as it is no longer fresh and may even be rotten. There is a new late-fruiting variety of custard apple that has a pink skin. It is known as Pinks Blush. If you're lucky enough to find this unusual variety (Australia only currently), it will have a pink skin rather than light green.
Check for the firmness of the fruit. Do this carefully, as no greengrocer wants bruises on their unsold fruit! The fruit should have a small give, much like a ripe avocado, when it's ripe enough to eat.
Check for blemishes. A few black spots here and there are to be expected,as this is a delicate fruit. Some marks will appear during travel or as a result of handling, as the fruit is easy to bruise. These small marks will not usually affect the condition of the flesh inside. It is only something to be concerned about when you see evident rotting or a black or purple color all over.
Storing Custard Apples
Determine whether your have a ripe or unripe custard apple. Each should be stored differently, as the unripe one needs to be ripened. An unripe custard apple will be firm to the touch, with no give.
Ripen an unripe custard apple. To ripen the custard apple, leave it out at room temperature in a fruit bowl or on the bench. If you need it faster, just pop it into a paper bag with a banana for 24 hours and it'll ripen quickly.
Store a ripe custard apple in the refrigerator. Once ripened, a custard apple won't keep for long at room temperature, especially not in a warm room. So, place it in the refrigerator for cool storage, where it will keep for up to three (3) days.
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