What are the latest methods for ripening sugar apples?
Before sugar apples ripen, they have a strong astringent taste and simply cannot be eaten, but if you buy fully ripe sugar apples directly, they will keep for only a very short time after you get them home, and that is not ideal either. The best method is to buy unripe sugar apples and then ripen them yourself at home. Now let us take a look together at how to ripen sugar apples!
Ripening Time of Sugar Apples
The flowering period of the sugar apple is from May to June, and the ripening period is from June to November. It originated in tropical America and was first introduced by the Dutch. According to Shen Guangwen of the Ming dynasty, a poem titled “Sugar Apple” proves that it had already been introduced by the Ming Zheng period at the latest, was planted in the Tainan area, and then spread to central and southern Taiwan, China, but was only planted in small areas. It is also grown in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan, Fujian and other places.
How to Ripen Sugar Apples?
1. Wrap the sugar apples you bought in newspaper, then spray some water on the newspaper, and store them in a warmer place. After two or three days, the sugar apples will become soft and ripe, and you can eat them with confidence.
2. Sugar apples can be fumigated with large incense. Put the sugar apples in a sealed small room, then light large incense inside the room and leave them for two or three days. When you take them out, you will find that the sugar apples have turned yellow and are fully ripe.
3. Put the sugar apples in a plastic bag, add a few fully ripe apples or other fruits, then seal it and place it in a warm place. After a few days, the sugar apples will also ripen quickly. This ripening method actually uses the principle of ethylene ripening, because ripe fruits release ethylene when sealed, which exactly meets the needs of sugar apples for ripening.
How to Eat Sugar Apples?
1. Sugar apples must be ripe and soft before eating. After buying them and bringing them home, if they are still hard, you can wrap them in newspaper, spray some water, and leave them for one or two days. After they become soft, you can cut them open with a knife, remove the peel, and eat them. They are delicious, sweet and fragrant, with a very unique flavor.
2. Sugar apples can also be cut into pieces to make various iced drinks. The peel is not edible. If the peel turns black, there is no need to worry; the flavor is even better.
3. Sugar apples can also be eaten like watermelon, cut open lengthwise and then sliced to eat.
4. Fresh sugar apples can be eaten raw, including being used to make juice, or made into fruit dew to drink. If you plan to eat them this way, you must wait until the fruit is completely softened. Finally, leave the sugar apples you bought at room temperature for a few more days, and when the skin feels very soft when lightly pinched, they are ready to eat.