Soursop, raw

Soursop is a large, spiny-skinned tropical fruit with soft white, custard-like flesh studded with black seeds that are removed before eating. The pulp has a flavor often described as a mix of pineapple, strawberry, and banana with a slightly tangy edge, and it is rarely eaten out of hand in large chunks because of its fibrous, stringy texture. Instead, it is most commonly blended into juice (known as guanabana juice across Latin America), churned into sorbet or ice cream, or pureed into smoothies, milkshakes, and desserts. In Southeast Asia and the Caribbean it also turns up in candies and syrups, since blending or straining smooths out the fibrous strands that make the raw pulp less pleasant to chew directly.

Soursop should be picked while still firm and left at room temperature until it yields slightly to gentle pressure, similar to ripening an avocado; once ripe, move it to the refrigerator and use it within a day or two, or scoop out the pulp and freeze it for smoothies later. A 225-gram cup of pulp comes to about 149 calories, making it a relatively light fruit choice, and per 100 grams it provides 23% of the Daily Value for vitamin C and 3.3 grams of fiber, useful contributions for a fruit that is mostly eaten blended rather than whole. Its sodium content is negligible at 14 milligrams per 100 grams, so it fits easily into juices or desserts without adding meaningful sodium to the dish.