Sugar Apple: The Next Must-Try Fruit?

As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, I love food. Specifically, I love trying new foods — there are so many different flavors and textures to explore! 

Take sugar apples, for example. While this fruit is not “new” to some people, it may be new to you, especially if you’re not from South America or Asia. Sugar apple, also known as sweet sop, custard apple, or Atis fruit, is a fruit with an abstract, knobby exterior and a sweet, custard-like interior. Sugar apples are popular in the Caribbean, South America, and some parts of Asia. 

The knobby sugar apple fruit is sweet, mild, and creamy in taste. The riper the fruit, the sweeter it will be. The seeds are inedible, though, so be mindful of spitting them out as you enjoy the fruit itself.

Sugar apple fruit is high in antioxidants like Vitamin C (promoting immunity), kaurenoic acid, folic acid, flavonoids and carotenoids. It’s also high in vitamin B6, dietary fiber, and electrolytes magnesium and potassium.

How do you eat sugar apple fruit?

If you’re like me, and you’re ready to dive right in and enjoy this new-to-you fruit, you are probably wondering how you can enjoy it! 

Here are a few ideas of ways you can incorporate sugar apples into your diet:

Eat as-is: slice it up and enjoy a sugar apple just as nature intended it to be! 

On fro-yo: cut it up and use it as a topping on frozen yogurt for a sweet treat.

Roasted & toasted: line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake slices of sugar apple topped with some honey or sugar (if you’re feeling extra indulgent)

Jam-it-Up: Make a jam or jelly with sugar apples- here’s a great recipe! Put this in yogurt, oatmeal, or enjoy on a charcuterie board with meat and cheese! 

Blended in Smoothies: add sugar apples to your favorite smoothies blended with some protein for a nutritious snack

Sub for Bananas: because sugar apples and bananas have similar consistencies, you can sub sugar apples for bananas in some of your favorite recipes! 

Sauce it: make your own homemade applesauce with sugar apples for a slightly different delicious flavor 

Where can you find this international delight? 

Sugar apples aren’t as common in the US, but you can find them in some stores. Mostly, you’ll come across this fruit and other more exotic produce in Caribbean or Asian markets. 

The key to a healthy diet is incorporating a variety of fresh, whole, and unprocessed foods. Finding new and fun ways to incorporate different produce can be a really fun way to keep your diet interesting and satisfying. If you try one and love it, that’s great! You can always add it to your rotation. If you try one and don’t love it, that’s also great, because you’re refining your taste and getting to know more about what flavors you enjoy.