Cherimoya (Annona cherimola), often referred to as “Soursop” to local folks here, is a wintertime fruit from a leafy evergreen tree that is believed to have originated from Ecuador and Peru and to have first come to Hawaii around the 1790’s. It tastes kind of like banana and pineapple with a little strawberry thrown in, but some palates won’t have the same taste experience and find them more or less flavorless. Cherimoya is a large, grapefruit sized, heart shaped fruit with an inedible hard and pointy green skin. The seeds are basically poisonous, and the trees won’t grow where it is too warm or too cold.
These photos are of a tree located in the temperate zone of Kula at 3,000 feet on Haleakala.
When they are very ripe, but not yet spoiled, they can be of a custard like consistency. When chilled, they’re eaten with a spoon and I have heard many older locals here tell stories of how they were seen as an ice cream substitute back in the day.
Determining ripeness involves a similar experience to that of determining the ripeness of avocados. There seems to be a very small window for success. The pointy parts of the skin begin to round off and the skin begins to give slightly. This is the time to pick and then let ripen on the counter.
Just when they begin to get soft, chill them, cut open and enjoy!