Author Topic: tastiest Annona fruit  (Read 62704 times)

Tomas

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tastiest Annona fruit
« on: May 02, 2012, 03:59:55 PM »
What is considered the tastiest Annona fruit? From what I have read, Annona cherimola x squamosa (cherimoya) seems to usually get he highest marks. I was thinking that perhaps there are some obscure Annona species that are also worth growing.

Tomas

natsgarden123

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2012, 04:03:01 PM »
Cherimoya doesn't grow very well here- Atemoya is really delicious, and it grows much better. I have only tasted the Gefner Variety and its really good.  A number of the nurseries listed here carry it.

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2012, 04:12:53 PM »
I think good atemoyas have the jump on cheimoyas Tomas.Gefner would never get the tiara in an atemoya pagent and my tree might be the poor cousin of the atemoya world but they are not too bad.In this area with relatively few atemoyas available pinks mammoth has long been considered the finest culinary variety.Alas it has now been left behind by its new decendants and other apparently more glamorous atemoyas.

Jackfruitwhisperer69

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2012, 04:16:21 PM »
Hi Tomas,

Is that a tricky question?

CHERIMOYAS ARE THE BEST ;) ;) ;)
Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of your life!

nullzero

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2012, 04:19:54 PM »
I think on average most people on this forum would rank Cherimoya first with Atemoya a very close second. Then Annona like Rollinia and Sugar Apple behind those first two.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2012, 04:46:22 PM by nullzero »
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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2012, 04:31:07 PM »
ROLLINIA!

Atemoya!



But still have yet to try Illama!

I have tasted the following annonas fresh:

Soursop (2 varieties) :)
Rollinia (fruits from about 5 different trees) :-*
Annona reticulata  :)
Atemoya (about 5 varieties) :-*
Sugar apple (many varieties) :)
Cherimoya (about 3 varieties) :)
M. cylindrocarpa (Fingerlime annona) :-\
Pond apple :P



I think that's it!

I hear that "poor man's banana" ranks up there with the best!

« Last Edit: May 02, 2012, 08:40:36 PM by Adam Shafran »
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nullzero

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2012, 04:51:46 PM »
I would say the best is the one that performs best in any given climate/soil. If you live in the cold winter climate... the best is PawPaw. Live in FL the best is Atemoya / Rollinia. California Cherimoya hands down. The real question is matching a CA Cherimoya up against a FL Atemoya in a blind taste test.
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emegar

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2012, 05:16:06 PM »
I know I'm stating the obvious, but there's clearly a lot of variation within Annona species.  My experience is almost entirely with cherimoyas here in California.  Of the varieties I've tasted (maybe as many as 10), most were good, but only a few, such as El Bumpo, were outstanding.  To my taste, cherimoya needs that tinge of acidity to leave it tasting something like the lovechild of an amazing pear and a fantastic pineapple.
James

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2012, 05:28:14 PM »
Although I'm in South Florida and grow several Annona's, my vote for the tastiest one goes to Cherimoya. 

Tony

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2012, 05:51:16 PM »
Fresh picked cherimoya (not the poopy ones found in publix) is my favorite. Atemoya is not far behind.
Jeff  :-)

Jackfruitwhisperer69

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2012, 05:51:29 PM »
Although I'm in South Florida and grow several Annona's, my vote for the tastiest one goes to Cherimoya. 

Tony

Amen...Brother ;D ;D ;D
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You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of your life!

natsgarden123

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2012, 06:00:31 PM »
Although I'm in South Florida and grow several Annona's, my vote for the tastiest one goes to Cherimoya. 

Tony

Do you grow cherimoya?  I didn't think we could here..  :)

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2012, 06:06:10 PM »
I think good atemoyas have the jump on cheimoyas Tomas.Gefner would never get the tiara in an atemoya pagent and my tree might be the poor cousin of the atemoya world but they are not too bad.In this area with relatively few atemoyas available pinks mammoth has long been considered the finest culinary variety.Alas it has now been left behind by its new decendants and other apparently more glamorous atemoyas.

You folks down under have a lot more atemoya cultivars than we do, but here i think we have a whole lot more cherimoya cultivars than you do. So i think which is better is still up in the air because neither of us can really make a fair assesment of the whole gamut of both.
Oscar

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #13 on: May 02, 2012, 06:09:45 PM »
What is considered the tastiest Annona fruit? From what I have read, Annona cherimola x squamosa (cherimoya) seems to usually get he highest marks. I was thinking that perhaps there are some obscure Annona species that are also worth growing.

Tomas

Hi Tomas, good question, but cherimolaXsquamosa is an atemoya, not a cherimoya.
Of the ones i've tasted cherimoya is tops. Whitman fiberless soursop comes in a close second. Rollinia is also very good, but so different than the annonas that it's really hard to compare. I also really like one of the improved paw paws i tastesd (Asimina triloba). Sugar apples can be very good also, but many are just too seedy for me.
Oscar

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #14 on: May 02, 2012, 06:57:59 PM »
Cherimoya! I got two mature trees, Daniel got budwood from me, the fruits from my garden has no grit at all, very juicy, sweet, tart, pineapple/other fruit flavours mixed. Hard to desribe. Still got some budwood I can spare, but dont ask me the variety as I dont know. Fruit gets about over 20 seeds and weighs about 1-2 lbs avarage.

BMc

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #15 on: May 02, 2012, 07:27:51 PM »
To me the tastiest annona is the one in my mouth.
All this debating is making me hungry!
Oscar is correct in saying we couldnt make a real informed decision on cherimoya v atemoya as there is very little production here of cherimoya, as atemoya is established in the market and distributed south, into cherimoya country, and there is not a huge home grower scene for it (other than a few avid collectors in country Vic and around Adelaide. We do have many of the good american types here, but searching them out to get a taste is too much work. Only white, fino and sofia are easily available and others like booth, pierce were distributed by the main production nursery here, but they stopped selling them due to low demand and concentrated on their atemoyas. I believe they still have the original trees though, so there is hope that they could be reintroduced if they get more popular again.
Anywho, I'm off to down 1.2 kgs of pinks mammoth  ;D

FloridaGreenMan

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #16 on: May 02, 2012, 08:34:40 PM »
When I was a kid growing up in Cuba I remember eating several cherimoyas in Cuba but none of them ever compared highly to the taste of the Guanabana. When I came to the states I have eaten several different types of cherimoyas including one that was red, and in my opinion to date none of the ones that I have eaten can hold a candle in regards to taste a good Atemoya such as Lisa, or 97-1.

Endusar
Cubans in Florida and Cuba call A. reticulata "Chirimoya" but they are actually Custard apples.  Cherimoya (A.cherimola) is a totally different fruit.

 
FloridaGreenMan

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #17 on: May 02, 2012, 08:53:38 PM »
Although I'm in South Florida and grow several Annona's, my vote for the tastiest one goes to Cherimoya. 

Tony

Do you grow cherimoya?  I didn't think we could here..  :)

No, I wish that we could grow Cherimoya down here. I have Atemoya and Sugar Apple planted in my yard. The Cherimoya I have had were all from California. 

FloridaGreenMan

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #18 on: May 02, 2012, 09:03:38 PM »
Thanks for the info but the cherimoyas that I ate all had the slight depressions in the skin that looked like thumbs.

Most Custard apples have the same indentations. Cherimoyas will not fruit well in most parts of Cuba since the lowland conditions are almost identical to Florida. True Cherimoyas require a Mediterranean climate like California or Chile, dry and cool but not cold.  Also you mentioned a red fleshed or skinned Cherimoya. No such thing. There is one Cherimoya with a slight pink tinge but it's very slight and they are very rare!




 
FloridaGreenMan

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #19 on: May 02, 2012, 09:08:58 PM »
http://chestofbooks.com/gardening-horticulture/fruit/Tropical-And-Subtropical-Fruits/The-Cherimoya-Annona-Cherimola-Mill-Continued.html

An interesting article about Cherimoya in the Caribbean and other parts of the world. I never knew Jamaica had a lot of A. cherimola growing.

natsgarden123

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #20 on: May 02, 2012, 09:35:51 PM »
Although I'm in South Florida and grow several Annona's, my vote for the tastiest one goes to Cherimoya. 

Tony

Do you grow cherimoya?  I didn't think we could here..  :)

No, I wish that we could grow Cherimoya down here. I have Atemoya and Sugar Apple planted in my yard. The Cherimoya I have had were all from California.

I never tasted it-would like to -can it be ordered?   

I have an old ( 1980's) ortho tropical fruit book which lists a bunch of cherimoya varieties for florida...Ill try to find the book and post the page-its really interesting..

SWRancher

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #21 on: May 02, 2012, 09:43:52 PM »
Although I'm in South Florida and grow several Annona's, my vote for the tastiest one goes to Cherimoya. 

Tony

Do you grow cherimoya?  I didn't think we could here..  :)

No, I wish that we could grow Cherimoya down here. I have Atemoya and Sugar Apple planted in my yard. The Cherimoya I have had were all from California.

I never tasted it-would like to -can it be ordered?   

I have an old ( 1980's) ortho tropical fruit book which lists a bunch of cherimoya varieties for florida...Ill try to find the book and post the page-its really interesting..

I ordered them from "Cherimoya.com"

natsgarden123

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #22 on: May 02, 2012, 09:56:10 PM »
Thanks. I just ordered a box from them.. :)

FloridaGreenMan

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #23 on: May 02, 2012, 10:03:01 PM »
Over the years of living in Florida, I have grown and fruited the following Annonas...

Guanabana (Mario1)
Atemoya (Gefner)
Sugar apple (Big Green)
Sugar apple (Big Red)
Sugar apple (Kampong Mauve)
Sugar apple (Cuban seedless)
Ilama (Genova Red)
Rollinia (Amazon Beauty)
Custard Apple (Canul)

I have tasted most of of the other annonas grown in Florida at one time or another. To my Caribbean-biased taste buds, the best tasting Annonas are the Genova Red Ilama which tastes like a creamy sweet raspberry atemoya with zero grit.....The Big Red sugar apple...I sell lots of these and most people that buy them are annona fanatics from sugar apple havens like India, Jamaica and Cuba and the majority of them say it's the best sugar apple they have ever tried.  They are bigger and tastier than the Red Mauve and much more prolific.  Perfectly ripened Gefner Atemoyas are also incredible. The sweet Guanabanas that Oscar mentioned are also awesome. I tried one in Puerto Rico that was as sweet as a sugar apple!  Top notch Rollinias are also very excellent but the quality of fruits is sporadic.  I have also tasted the best PawPaw cultivars from Ohio and would rate them at the low end of the spectrum. They all have an aftertaste that does not agree with me.   
     
Regarding Cherimoyas, I have also been to California several times and have tasted tree ripened Cherimoyas that were grown in Santa Barbara, Simi Valley and Camarillo. The ones I tasted included Booth, Ott, El Bumpo, White, Pierce and several others that I can't remember.  The best ones I tried were very nice but in my opinion, not as good as the  previously mentioned Annonas. I did not grow up eating annonas, it was a learned behavior.  Not to upset the California folks, you guys can grow a delicious Cherimoya, but you need a try a perfectly ripened sugar apple which is very difficult to find in the mainland US outside of South Florida. The area where I live in Broward County Florida very likely has among the best overall climatic & soil conditions for Sugar apples and Atemoyas on the mainland.             

The key to any of these Annonas is eating fruits that are perfectly ripened in the place where they grow the best.  Florida grown Cherimoyas, are plain mediocre. We do not have the proper growing conditions that Camarillo Calif has. I would think that sugar apples that fruit in California will not as good since they require  high humidity and they don't do as well in the cooler climate.  To finish this off, those of you that have not tasted a perfectly ripened Genova Red Ilama or a Big Red sugar apple need to add these to your bucket list!   Just my humble opinion !!!!


Genova Red Ilama


Big Red Sugar Apple









FloridaGreenMan

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Re: tastiest Annona fruit
« Reply #24 on: May 02, 2012, 10:16:59 PM »
nice pics of illama flgreenman!

when were they taken? who's tree?

thanks for posting!
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