Mark Twain had this to say about cherimoya in Roughing It:
We had an abundance of fruit in Honolulu, of course. Oranges, pine-apples, bananas, strawberries, lemons, limes, mangoes, guavas, melons, and a rare and curious luxury called the chirimoya (sic), which is deliciousness itself.
And: We had an abundance of mangoes, papaias (sic) and bananas here (in Hawai’i), but the pride of the islands, the most delicious fruit known to men, cherimoya, was not in season. It has a soft pulp, like a pawpaw, and is eaten with a spoon.
My own experience is that cherimoya—like dragonfruit and persimmon—is a difficult fruit to describe to people familiar only with Anglo chain grocery fare; comparisons are necessarily both hybrid and imprecise. From inside my skin, the flavor partakes of banana, pineapple, pear, and strawberry; the texture has a delectable custardy creaminess that lends itself to freezing and smoothies. (The black seeds are toxic but large and easy to avoid.)
I found it at, of all places, Meijer’s in Kettering, Ohio.
no subject
We had an abundance of fruit in Honolulu, of course. Oranges, pine-apples, bananas, strawberries, lemons, limes, mangoes, guavas, melons, and a rare and curious luxury called the chirimoya (sic), which is deliciousness itself.
And: We had an abundance of mangoes, papaias (sic) and bananas here (in Hawai’i), but the pride of the islands, the most delicious fruit known to men, cherimoya, was not in season. It has a soft pulp, like a pawpaw, and is eaten with a spoon.
My own experience is that cherimoya—like dragonfruit and persimmon—is a difficult fruit to describe to people familiar only with Anglo chain grocery fare; comparisons are necessarily both hybrid and imprecise. From inside my skin, the flavor partakes of banana, pineapple, pear, and strawberry; the texture has a delectable custardy creaminess that lends itself to freezing and smoothies. (The black seeds are toxic but large and easy to avoid.)
I found it at, of all places, Meijer’s in Kettering, Ohio.