Introducing Cherimoya: Your New Favorite Fruit

The cherimoya (cher-uh-MOY-uh) is a fruit of curious contradictions. It's native to cold, high altitude regions—of the tropics. In fact, its name comes from the Quechua word "chirimuya," which means "cold seeds," as the seeds germinate in altitudes up to six thousand feet. And that's just the beginning... 

The flower that begets this fruit is hermaphroditic.

The flower that begets this fruit is hermaphroditic. It begins its life female and within a matter of hours, transitions to male. This f-to-m transition keeps the flower from self-pollinating. By the time the pollen is produced, the ovum has withered. Bees not are not pollinator for cherimoyas. In the wild, Scientists believe a beetle makes the match, collecting pollen from male stamens, and delivering it to female ovums before they transition. When they’re cultivated outside their natural habitat, each flower has to be pollinated by hand.

Cherimoya Pudding with Toasted Pistachios

And it's worth it! This is a fruity-tutti tropical explosion! Mark Twain called the cherimoya, "the most delicious fruit known to men." We agree but, ahem, women like them too.

But steer clear of the seeds. They're poisonous!

You can find cherimoya at Pedro's Organic Ranch stand. Their season starts in late fall and runs through spring. 

Aubrey Yarbrough is the Community Development Manager for Farmer Mark. Before moving to LA she ran her own organic farm and cooked on the garde manger station of the award winning Elements restaurant in Princeton, NJ. She has contributed poetry to New American Writing and prose to Edible Jersey.