Custard apple is the fruit of a small tropical American tree. The custard apple, or bullock’s heart, is almost round in shape, measuring 23/4 to 43/4 inches (7 to 12 centimeters) across. The skin of the fruit is dark brown and has a rough scaly rind. The flesh is fibrous, sweet, and creamy white. The fruit has a number of large seeds. Custard apples are grown throughout the tropics. The fruits are also eaten by bats, monkeys, and squirrels.
Related edible fruits include the cherimoya, soursop, and sweetsop. The cherimoya has a greenish-purple skin with creamy-white flesh and inedible black seeds. It has a sour-sweet flavor. The soursop is a pear-shaped fruit weighing up to 21 ounces (600 grams). The skin is covered with warts or soft thorns. The flesh is spongy, succulent, and sweet. Sweetsop, also called sugar apple, is heart-shaped. The fruit, divided into lobes, has creamy-yellow flesh and many seeds. Custard apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, and soursop belong to a primitive group of flowering plants related to magnolias.
