How to Eat Sugar Apple: Scoop Out the Flesh Once It's Ripe and Soft for the Best Taste

Sugar apple, also called custard apple (sweetsop), is a fruit formed from many small fused segments, with milky white flesh that is sweet, soft and starchy. Whether it is ready to eat is judged mainly by feel: when the skin gives slightly under gentle pressure and the fruit feels soft all over, it is ripe. If the sugar apple you just bought is still on the firm side, you can store it indoors together with an apple or a banana for a few days, which helps ripen it.

The simplest way to eat it is fresh. Pull a ripe, soft sugar apple apart along the segments or cut it in half, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon; the black seeds inside need to be spat out and must not be swallowed. If you like a cool, refreshing taste, you can chill the ripe fruit briefly before eating, but unripe sugar apples should not be put in the refrigerator, as low temperatures hinder the fruit's after-ripening.

Sugar apple is also suitable for simple preparation. The seeded flesh can be blended with milk or yogurt into a smoothie, or mixed into ice cream or desserts, with a rich aroma and a distinctive flavor. In some places it is also cooked into jam or made into drinks, which are likewise popular.

There are a few things to keep in mind when eating it. Sugar apple has a fairly high sugar content, so people who need to control their sugar intake are advised to enjoy it in moderation; the flesh is on the warming side, and eating too much at once can easily cause internal heat or bloating. In addition, sugar apple does not keep well, so once it is ripe and soft it should be eaten as soon as possible; left too long, it easily develops a fermented taste or the flesh discolors.