Custard apple

Choose one that gives slightly when pressed gently, like a ripe avocado, and smells sweet. The skin may darken as it ripens; avoid fruit that is very soft, split or sour-smelling.

Let it soften at room temperature, then cut it in half and scoop out the creamy flesh with a spoon. Pick out and discard every glossy dark seed; the seeds are not edible.

It is usually eaten fresh, since heating can make its delicate, custardy flesh lose its appeal. For a chilled dessert, scoop out the seed-free flesh and blend it into a smoothie or fold it through yoghurt or cream.

Leave firm fruit on the worktop until it yields gently to pressure. Once ripe, refrigerate it and eat it within a day or two; keep cut flesh covered and chilled.

Its sweet, creamy flesh pairs well with lime or lemon juice, which adds a sharp contrast, and with coconut, yoghurt or other tropical fruits. Use it in fruit salad, smoothies or chilled desserts, after removing the seeds.

No. Remove the hard, dark seeds and do not crush or chew them; they are not food. Keep them away from children and pets.

They are related fruits in the custard-apple family, but the names are not interchangeable everywhere. Sugar-apple usually has distinct rounded segments, while cherimoya has smoother, overlapping scales; custard apple is also used as a broad name for several related fruits.

Custard apple has 101 kcal per 100 g, compared with 75 kcal in cherimoya. Cherimoya has more fibre, at 3 g per 100 g versus 2.4 g in custard apple.

It is a source of vitamin C: a 100 g portion provides 19.2 mg. Its soft flesh makes it easy to eat fresh, but the seeds should always be removed.