16. ATEMOYA

April 2024

Fruit -Custard Apple

Variety - Atemoya

Location – United Kingdom

Bought from –https://myexoticfruit.com/shop/

My Exotic Fruit, Unit 19, Oaklands Farm Estate, Goatsmoor Lane, Stock, Ingatestone CM4 9RS.

01277 809810

Cost - Click here for the current website prices. Please call the shop on 01277 809810 for the in-store price

Grown - Brazil

Description - Atemoya is a hybrid of cherimoya and sugar apple. Being in the Annona family, it’s closely related to soursop too! However, in my opinion, atemoya stands out from the rest of the group.

Although we tend to sell 350-450g atemoyas, these fruits can grow gigantic: they can weigh up to 1kg!

Their skin immediately makes them eye-catching too, as it’s uniquely bumpy and scaly.

What I think really makes atemoyas a top choice though is their wonderfully smooth flesh. The flesh is firmer, less grainy, and contains fewer seeds than the other fruits in their family – while I love the taste of sugar apples, they contain too many seeds for me to enjoy them as much as atemoyas.

While atemoyas do usually contain a fair amount of seeds, this particular batch had hardly any seeds inside, which made for an even better eating experience!

Atemoyas are best enjoyed when they start to yield to pressure (but don’t wait until they’re overly soft) – the flesh won’t have developed its full flavour if you eat it when it’s still very firm!

Before eating, you should also remove the small central core running through the middle of the flesh.

Once the atemoya is ready to eat, you’ll find that the creamy flesh has a flavour similar to other fruits in the Annona family: like soursop, atemoya has wonderful notes of coconut, banana, and strawberry, but it doesn’t have the characteristic soursop tanginess.

I think the flavour is particularly bright and tropical, with an 8/10 sweetness.

Although the flesh closest to the skin is slightly grainier and less sweet than the flesh in the centre, and sometimes parts of the flesh can crystallise due to a sugar build up, the consistent tropical sweetness and indulgent creaminess of the flesh is simply divine.

Personally, I think they’re best eaten fresh out of hand, but if you want to be creative, you can use the flesh to make mouthwatering smoothies, juices, and sorbets

Storage - Store at room temperature or warmer, and then refrigerate once the fruit is ripe.

Rating - 9/10, I always enjoy eating atemoya!

Available from My Exotic Fruit?

Yes, they’re on our website and you’ll soon be able to buy from our new shop, The Greengrocer! They are seasonal fruits though, so will not be available all year round (they are usually in season from March to September).

Do we sell atemoya seeds and seedlings? 

Not at the moment.

Do you have something interesting to tell us about atemoya, or any fruit we sell? 

We'd love to hear from you! Email us on blog@myexoticfruit.com and, with your permission, we'll add your information to our website.