name that fruit!: atemoya.

sometimes i feel like i could be perfectly happy not ever eating another washington apple nor california grape again, as long as i had an abundance of tropical fruit available. sometimes, especially when i see the variety available in the markets and shops in the philippines. i am a little sad to see that more tropical fruit is being imported in from malaysia and thailand at a cheaper price than the local crops, and while i appreciate the availability, i hope local farmers do not suffer because of the competition.




i haven't really taken the time to figure out what fruits are in season each month, and i most certainly haven't tried all the different kinds. however, i do try to taste a fruit unfamiliar to me every time i go.



this time around i tried an atemoya, a hybrid between a sweetsop, otherwise known as atis (annona squamosa), and cherimoya (annona cherimola). both are members of the same family of fruit, annonas, and all the fruit are similar in colouring--a pale green, lightly textured thin skin covers milky white flesh flecked with large black seeds. the flavour is milky, sweet, and very delicately tart.



the only difference that i can discern between this and atis is that the bulby protuberances are a bit spikier, and the fruit seem capable of growing larger. the flesh a little denser, and somewhat "fruitier" in taste, with a bit of a latex-like aftertaste. almost as if it was a cross between atis and a piece of juicyfruit gum. not really a good selling point, but maybe intriguing enough for you to try one.