The Guanabana!Guanabana is a popular fruit found in Colombia and is also known as Annona Muricata and Soursop. This fruit grows in humid areas where warm winters are experienced as temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius are known to damage the tree considerably as the fruit may dry up and no longer be useful. Among the countries whose weather conditions are perfect for growing Soursop are Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela and several Central American countries as well as some African nations that are located in tropical regions. Its flavor can be described as being a sour combination of strawberry and pineapple with an implicit creamy flavor similar to coconut or banana. Very often the fruit is eaten when it ripens after being taken from the tree and left in a dark place for some time. Nutritionally, it is high in carbohydrates and contains significant amounts of vitamins C, B1 and B2. Everyday useSoursop’s sweet pulp is great for making candies, beverages and ice scream flavorings but is also offered in whole as dessert in different Latin American countries. You’ll also find fruit bars made of Guanabana as well as aguas frescas.Aguas frescas are also known as refrescos or just frescos. These soft beverages are a combination of fruits with sugar and water that’s blended and served cold in different parts of Latin America where they’re very popular drinks. Among the most popular fruits that give these drinks their flavor are the mango, watermelon, papaya, lemon, orange, strawberry and, of course, soursop. In Asia where the fruit is also grown, fresh fruit juices and smoothies are made with soursop in Indonesia and Vietnam respectively. Quick RecipesYou can easily make yourself a soursop shake with 1/2 cup of cold milk, two scoops of vanilla ice cream and about 1/4 cup of sugar. Just combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until you get its smooth and foamy.Guanabana Sorbet is fairly easy to get as well with just two cups of its pulp, 2 table spoons of lime or lemon juice and 3/4 cup s of sugar. Make sure the fruit’s pulp is pureed and seed-free and blend with 1 cup of water along with lime juice and sugar. Blend until the sugar dissolves, put everything in a metal pan covered with foiled and freeze for about 3 hours until its firm. Since you won’t be using an ice cream maker, take a fork and mash the sorbet once its firm and then freeze until firm again so you can then serve it. Medicinal UseThanks to an email that circulated in the recent past, guanabana is thought to have components powerful enough to fight cancer. Ever since these emails started to be sent in 1999, it’s believed that soursop tea is what helps to cure cancer but, there’s no proof that this fruit or any of its components does, in fact cure such terminal disease.Studies about annonacine, soursop’s alleged anti-cancer composite, have been made but not directly in humans, therefore confirming the fact that it is nothing but a fruit at the moment. Other studies though have suggested a connection between the consumption of soursop and unusual forms of Parkinson’s disease due to the high concentration of annonacin but, nothing’s been scientifically proven.
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