Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine October 2017

LOOK OUT FOR…
Soursop: Slippery
Yet Satisfying!
by Lynn Kaak
As you travel through the Caribbean, every month there’s
something special to look out for.
OCTOBER 2017 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 38
MariGourmet
Supermarket
PROVISIONING SERVICE AVAILABLE
We offer fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, a wide range
of cheeses, wines and spirits.
Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday 8am to 7pm
Sundays & Holidays 8am to 1pm
The Marina Village
P.O. Box MG 7228
Marigot Bay, St. Lucia, W.I.
Tel: 1 758 451 4031
Fax: 1 758 451 4032
Email: marigourmet@candw.lc
HELP TRACK HUMPBACK WHALE MIGRATION
Your contributions of tail fluke photographs of humpback whales
from the Caribbean region are critical for conservation efforts.
INTERESTED in Helping? Go to www.CARIBTAILS.org
ILIKERAREPLANTS.BLOGSPOT.COM / INSET: STEFAN KRASOWSKI
Soursop is the fruit one might think should have received the name of “Ugly Fruit”.
However, as bizarre and unappealing as this fruit looks, it answers to many names
(graviola and corossol are two other possibilities in the Eastern Caribbean, while a
derivative of guanabana or guabana might be found in Spanish speaking countries)
and it is not something to turn down. Looks are definitely deceiving with this fruit.
The luscious flavor of the creamy, slippery flesh of soursop is usually described as
a combination of various tropical fruits — pineapple, papaya, banana, coconut… you
name it.
It is strongly believed that Annona muricata is indigenous to Central America, but
it spread from there very quickly and was well established around the Caribbean
Basin and the tropical regions of the Americas by the time the Europeans showed
up. Soursop then quickly found its way to the East and to Africa, where it has been
quite readily adopted into the cultures.
This is a true tropical plant. It handles cold about as well as an ice cube tolerates
heat: it doesn’t. It doesn’t take much of a frost to kill these trees off, making even
Florida an iffy prospect for them. However, they can handle poor soil well, and can
be found from sea level up to about 1,000 metres (nearly 3,300 feet), as long as it
isn’t cold. While it will flourish in richer soils, it can make itself at home in the
islands of the Bahamas, where the soil has less to offer. Graviola isn’t too wild about
really wet soil, either, but will make do.
The tree that bears these fruit is not a
particularly outstanding one. It grows to
a height of about seven to nine metres
(23 to 30 feet), and tends to look slender overall since the limbs tend to grow in an
upturned manner, which doesn’t make it one of the better shade trees. The somewhat
smelly leaves might dissuade one from resting under the tree as well.
The leaves are rugby-ball shaped, in that they are oblong and pointed at each
end. They alternate side to side, and their smooth tops are a little darker green
than the bottom.
The flowers have strong stalks, and they can grow on the trunk, branches or twigs.
They have three yellowish-green outer petals that spread out a bit, then three pale
yellow inner petals that turn inwards.
And the fruit. These spiky green beasties can get to a size up to 30 centimetres
(about a foot) long and 15 centimetres (six inches) wide or more, but you will generally
find the smaller, more manageable ones for sale. The skin is leathery looking,
with little spines all over it. When picked it is dark green, but it gets lighter as it
ripens. It is ripe when a little pressure causes the fruit to yield. The inside is a creamy
white, with dark seeds. Depending on the variety — of which Puerto Ricans count 14
on their island alone — there can be a few seeds or up to 200. The fruits are picked
before they are fully ripe, or they run a higher risk of falling and bruising.
Now, many incredible health benefits have been attributed to soursop, and some
of them can be substantiated. Because it is quite high in vitamin C and has a smattering
of other nutrients, it can safely be said that it has nutritional value. However,
the belief that it can kill cancer cells has not been fully proven in human testing, but
it has shown to be effective on some types of cancer cells in test tube studies; it is
NOT a replacement for traditional treatments. The leaves have been used for skin
conditions, and given as tea for some intestinal and blood problems. In parts of the
Eastern Caribbean it is believed to have a mellowing effect (telling someone they’ve
been drinking soursop leaf tea in these areas is an insult). It is believed to “cool the
body” and is used in traditional medicines. There is one caveat with soursop as the
seeds, leaves and bark have a neurotoxin — a nerve poison, if you will. However,
when the fruit is eaten as a normal part of the diet, and care taken to strain out the
seeds, it does not pose a risk.
As juice, in smoothies and other drinks, as ice cream and sorbet, in a fruit salad
or even just enjoying the fruit “as is”, the soursop fruit is pretty much a universal
treat in the tropics, wherever you may find yourself.