Sunday, December 13, 2020

Sugar-apples 釋迦, 番荔枝

For a while, I was quite confused by two slightly different versions of the sugar-apple 釋迦.  It took me a while. Now I think I have sorted them out.  


Sugar-apple is something that i have known from long time ago as 番荔枝.  It was actually called 番鬼荔枝. But that is probably not so politically correct these days, so people seems to have dropped the 鬼 from the name.  It is often sold as 釋迦 in Hong Kong these days. 



Then there is the almost identical pineapple sugar-apple 鳳梨釋迦.  It is not a cross between sugar-apple and pineapple.  But actually a cross between sugar-apple and cherimoya 秘魯番荔枝.  What is very confusing is that the pineapple sugar-apple is often also sold as 釋迦 in Hong Kong these days.  




Cherimoya is a relative of the sugar-apple, with a much smoother skin. The pineapple sugar-apple has a skin that is smoother than the sugar-apple.  And the internal partitions are less pronounced.  Both are quite sweet.  I like both, but prefer the sugar-apple slightly because it seems to have a more complex texture and taste.  


If it is not confusing enough, other than these three - sugar-apple, cherimoya and pineapple sugar-apple - there is also the soursop.  I heard that it is called 刺果番荔枝, or  红毛榴槤.  The one that I had in Vietnam was much more sour than sweet. 




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