Hooray - I just bought 3 from my local supermarket - I haven't seen them for years.

How do you tell when they are ripe? These ones are pale green without much 'give'. I imagine they need to feel a bit softer but I don't want them to go over.

Do they have another name?

Can't wait to try them - a real treat as they were very expensive.

answered my own question - another name for them is cherimoya. Apparently they ripen very quickly so check them every two hours!!!

Haven't seen cherimoya in the UK for a year...way-hay - must be the season - is it Tesco?

Yes they need to be spongy to touch, they still stay green with a bit of black on the skins. Yummy deliciousness.
[www.youtube.com]
my first youtube vid was on the custard apple. Enjoy

Cool! OkunDeji, is that you in the video? It's hard to see and hear, but looks interesting. Will have to find more info on that intersting fruit. Is it sweet??

*****************************
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson

NOOOOO not Tesco Debbie - Waitrose

Custard apples and cherimoya are related, but they are not the same. The custard apple has a lumpy surface, whereas the cherimoya has a flatter, faceted surface. The flesh and seeds are very similar though.

Oh, flipperjan, that's not fair...my Waitrose doesn't have them. Boo-hoo! Perhaps I'll try the Henley one.

Sorry Debbie - but you have a choice of TWO!!!!!

Bryan that's interesting. My custard apples or cherimoyas have what I would call a flatter, faceted surface not like the videod one of OkenDeji at all. It would be difficult to just pull mine apart with the fingers with such ease.

So I would say that mine is a cherimoya but was labelled by the supermarket as custard apple.

Just waiting for them to get a bit softer

Yes plainlydressed, that is me in the video ;-) 9 months ago

Flipperjan, I'm almost certain what you're referring to are cherimoyas, which are...a sort of variation/hybrid of the custard apple, which I've always understood to be a generic term.

I had 'a different sort of custard apple' in Thailand in August. From the outside it looked rather like cherimoyas, but the flesh was firmer (although ripe). You could pull this apart, but if you pulled cherimoya apart it would be a bit messy. And it had some brown stuff inside that was actually edible and tasted vaguely like cooked crumble!

I think I prefer the taste and texture of cherimoya.

(PS Flipperjan, I have three Waitroses and two giant Tescos within a 20-minute drive radius of my home (it's supermarket land here!)...but, there again, what's the use of three Waitroses if they don't do cherimoya? My local one hasn't had sharon fruit/persimmon for months either, although they were in Soho a few weeks ago. Although they have told me they should have some in November.)