Yet another culinary discovery in The Gambia was the soursop custard apple. However, for me it was not an entirely new discovery. The fruit is of the same family as the custard apple which I have previously tasted in India.
There, the fruit is called „Sitaphal“, and is not yet that widely known. The counterpart of the Sitaphal is the so-called „Ramphal“, and their names are alluding to the divine godly couple „Sita-Rama“. I have been to Indian markets where the so-called Persimmon fruit (Kaaki) has been advertised as the „Ramphal“.
However, in some places it says that the Ramphal is known as the Bull’s Heart Fruit. And according to the Indian fruit vocabulary, there is even a „Lakshmanphal“ and a „Hanumanphal“, both of them belonging to the family of custard apples, and alluding to the brother of Lord Rama (Lakshman) and the monkey servant of Lord Rama (Hanuman) respectively.
Whereas the Sitaphal from India is light-green with blackish spots, has a very creamy texture and is more or less round and structured into small parcels starting from the peel, the type of custard apple which grows here in West Africa is of bright green color, has pricks and is of a funny ovoid shape.
India’s Sitaphal tastes very sweet, but the soursop already reveals by its name that it’s sour. And when we say SOUR, we mean it! It’s one of the most intense sweet-and-sour experience I’ve ever had! It’s that sour that it can give you a spasm in the lower jaw, but at the same time that sweet that you can’t stop eating.
When cut open, the fruit reveals its whitish flesh. It contains quite a lot of seeds. The texture is somewhat creamy, but at the same time juicy. It’s really hard to describe the taste. It personally reminded me of a pear mixed with lime juice.
The fruit has been found to contain a lot of vitamins, and some say that it can even be used as a medicine, e.g. for the treatment of cancer. The most common way the fruit is consumed is in the form of juice or as a smoothy.
It’s definitely not a fruit I would eat on a daily basis due to its sourness, but it’s refreshing to have it every now and again.