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Annona_cherimola

Annona cherimola
Family Annonaceae
Genus Annona
Binomial name: Annona cherimola Mill., 1768
Cherimoya (Cherimoya, Chirimoya, or Churimoya in South America) is a tree of the family Annonaceae giving a fruit called cherimoya, whose taste is similar to that of apple cinnamon, heart of beef and soursop, all from trees of the genus Annona.
The name of the plant comes from a Quechua word, chirimuya, which means "seeds of the cold" and indicates that the seeds are able to sprout at high altitudes.
Description
The Cherimoya is a shrub from 2 to 7 meters, bushy, often branched from the base. The young twigs are covered with a reddish down.
The whole, obovate-lanceolate leaves, 8 to 12 cm long and 4 to 6 cm long, have a serrated, then glabrous upper surface and a distinctly velvety lower surface.
The flowers, hermaphrodites and solitary, carry 6 fleshy petals (in 2 cycles).
The fruits are subovoid, white pulp, black seeds 15 × 9 mm.
Ecology
The Cherimoya is native to the Andean Cordillera, in the high valleys of southern Ecuador and northern Peru, and grows wild at an altitude of between 1,300 meters and 2,600 meters.
Culture
The crop is grown worldwide in areas of sub-tropical climate. This plant is found in southern California, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, Italy, Peru and Chile.
In regions where this fruit has been introduced, fertilization of the flowers is assisted. The reason is that the pollen matures a day after the pistil. The fruits mature within five to eight months.
Export to Europe
Its fruit is one of the fruits that can be picked unripe (called climacteric). It can be stored and transported in a cold room several months without ripening. Its maturation will only occur on the stall or at the end customer. Once ripe, it is very sensitive, because with maturity the fruit softens.
 
Use in the kitchen
Its fruit, cherimoya or annone, is very ripe, and its taste varies according to the degree of maturity as strongly as a banana. Nevertheless, it can be used in combination with fruits that cut in color and taste like strawberry, raspberry, or papaya. In Chile, they make ice cream. An excellent combination, in Chile we also make chirimoya alegre, chirimoya in fruit salad with orange juice.
The fruit takes from 24 to 72 hours to go from a very hard state to a soft state, and it goes even faster than the ambient temperature is high (from 20 ° C to 27 ° C). He behaves a bit like a lawyer.
Nutritional properties
Cherimol is 75% water. Its high fiber content makes it a natural laxative. It is also rich in vitamins C, sodium and potassium. It is recommended for people with high blood pressure, heart problems and cholesterol.