Soursop

Clockwise: soursop, extra large avocado, and mangos

Locally grown fruits and vegetables available in the Caribbean are a little different from what one finds in the average US supermarket.  Most islands have an abundance fruit to the point you often see mangos and other fruits rotting on the ground.

Soursops are bright green when you buy them and are not ripe until they turn slightly brown.

The soursop is one of the strangest fruits in both appearance and name.  It is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree native to the Caribbean.  The taste is best described as being a tangy banana.  My first introduction to the soursop was in the form of soursop ice cream.  At the local mall I usually opt for the banana and mango smoothie, but recently when the vendor was out of mangos and bananas, I tried a soursop and peanut smoothie.  It is now my new favorite.

Making soursop juice is quite easy.  You start by thoroughly washing the soursop and your hands.  Although the soursop’s skin looks formidable, it is easily peeled with only your fingers.

Next you place the peeled soursop in a large mixing bowl and add 1 ½ cups of milk.

Here is the fun part.  With your clean hands, squish the soursop so as to remove the juice from the pulp.

Pour the mixture into a colander over another large bowl.

Continue squeezing the pulp through the colander removing all of the liquid.

You can get quite a bit of juice out of a medium sized soursop.

Discard the stringy pulp and seeds.

To your taste, mix in the following:

·         1 tsp (4.7 g) nutmeg (optional)

·         1 tbsp (14.3 g) vanilla (optional)

·         1/2 tsp (2.4 g) grated ginger (optional)

·         1 tbsp (14.3 g) sugar (optional)

·         1 lime, juiced (optional)

·         Shot of dark rum (optional)

Soursop juice tastes great and contains significant amounts of vitamin C, B1, and B2.  Although scientific evidence does not support the claim, soursop is continuously rumored to be a cure for cancer.  Serve over ice.