Soursop synonyms

Soursop synonyms

What are other words for soursop?

Soursop is known by a variety of different words. The following words are soursop synonyms or related terms that are used when speaking or writing about the fruit.

Soursop

Soursop is the primary name most people use to refer to the fruit of the graviola tree. However botanists refer to it as Annona Muricata, and it is a variety of spiny fruit with a soft and sweet pulpy center.

Graviola

A synonym of soursop. Graviola can also be used as a reference to the tree that the fruit grows on.

Guanábana

Guanábana is a common Spanish name for soursop. Read more about guanabana

Brazilian Paw Paw

The paw paw is unassuming fruit tree that produces  a delicious and sweet fruit (when ripe). Like soursop, it is a member of the Annonaceae family. Botanists believe that there are eight different species of paw paw. One is soursop which is often called the Brazilian paw paw.

Custard Apple

The creamy texture of the soursop flesh gives the fruit its secondary name “custard apple.

Cherimoya

The cherimoya (Annona cherimola) was called chirimuya by the Incan people (a race of ancient Mexicans). It is sometimes spelled: chirimoya. It is a cousin of the soursop, just as a fuji apple and a gala apple are both apples but different types of apple.

Guyabano

In the Philippines, soursop is called guyabano. The word is derived from the Spanish word for soursop: guanábana.

Annona muricata

This is the latin based botanical name for the soursop tree.

Guanaba

Guanaba is the word for soursop in E1 Salvador.

Huanaba

Huanaba is the word for soursop in Guatemala.

; in Mexico, often as

 Zopote de viejas

Zopote de viejas is a Mexican term for soursop. Translated it would mean old sapote. A sapote is a fruit with soft-flesh.

Cabeza de negro

Cabeza de negro is another way Mexicans describe soursop, although this usually refers to a similar fruit called Annona purpurea by botanists.

Related regional words for soursop

  • Venezuela: catoche or catuche
  • Argentina: anona de puntitas or anona de broquel
  • Bolivia: sinini
  • Brazil: araticum do grande, graviola, or jaca do Para
  • Netherlands Antilles: sorsaka
  • Surinam and Java: zunrzak
  • French-speaking areas of the West Indies, West Africa, Southeast Asia, especially in North Vietnam: corossolgrand corossol, corossol epineux, or cachiman epineux.
  • Malaya, In this south Asian nation it may be called durian belanda, durian maki or seri kaya belanda.
  • Thailand: The Thais call soursop this term: thu-rian-khack
Taste of soursop

What does soursop taste like?

The flavor of the soursop fruit is distinctly tropical. It can be described in a variety of ways. Here are some of the ways the tropical fruit’s devotees describe it when it lands on their palate.

What soursop tastes like:

Many of the fruit’s fans say the taste of soursop is exotic and lovely. It has flavors that are is a combination of: Strawberry and pineapple, with sour citrus flavor notes that contrast with its creamy texture, which is similar to the flavors of coconut and banana.

Other soursop lovers claim the spiny and strange-shaped fruit tastes like a combination between a mango and a pineapple. Some say sweetness prevails with a backend tang. Others claim it is more pineapple-flavored, with hints of mango.

Here is yet another take on the flavor of soursop: It has a delicate fragrance that is tropical, fruity, musky. It has a sour profile, but is sweet enough.

On this point, there are some that claim it is very sweet. It can taste like a combination or mixture of three flavors: pineapple, banana and papaya.

Is soursop delicious?

Mark Twain called the cherimoya, a near relative of soursop: “deliciousness itself.” (See more Mark Twain quotes). He said: “We had an abundance of mangoes, papaias and bananas here, but the pride of the islands, the most delicious fruit known to men, cherimoya, was not in season. It has a soft pulp, like a pawpaw, and is eaten with a spoon. The papaia looks like a small squash, and tastes like a paw paw.” This is from a letter he wrote that was published in the Sacramento Daily Union on October 25, 1866, and details his travels in Hawaii.

Mark Twain described the taste of soursop

Mark Twain called the taste of soursop “deliciousness itself”

What cherimoya tastes like:

There is some distinction between the Soursop and Cherimoya, which are related fruit. Think of them of how there are similar varieties of apples or avocados. Cherimoya fruit has a flavor described as a blend of bananas, pineapples, pears, lemons and other tropical fruits. The fruit is four- to eight-inches and is heart-shaped. It opens easily to reveal a white, sweet pulp and small coin-sized hard black seeds.

Journalist Joan Namkoong, writing in Honolulu magazine described the taste of cherimoya this way: “Inside is smooth, cream-colored, custardy flesh that hints at the flavors of pineapple, mango, passion fruit, banana and lemon.”

Grow a soursop tree

Grow a soursop tree at home

How to grow a soursop tree at home

Want to grow a soursop tree that bears the prickly soursop fruit at home? It is not that hard. However, there are some unique issues that need to be overcome before you can successfully harvest fresh soursop for your DIY growing efforts.

What you will need to grow a soursop tree at home

Here is the equipment and enviroment you will need to grow soursop:

  • Graviola seeds
  • Warm environment that can be kept above 30 F or -1 C.
  • Warm, shady spot for germination.
  • Peat pots filled with potting soil
  • A large pot
  • Garden tools
  • Peat, mulch and potting soil

Notes about growing soursop trees:

A soursop tree can grow from 25 to 30 feet tall.

The tree produces an oval-shaped spiny fruit with a tender yellow/green skin.

Typically, it is grown in countries like Mexico, Jamaica, the West Indies, northern South America, China, Australia Southeast Asia and Africa. In the U.S., it can grow in central to southern Florida, southern California, southern Arizona and southern Texas.

The tree that produces soursop fruit needs a tropical climate. It will not survive a frost. It will suffer damage at 30 F (around -1 C) and it will die at 26 F (-3 C).

U.S. Plant Hardiness Zones

U.S. Plant Hardiness Zones

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and 11. in rich. In Florida that is the zones south or Orlando and Tampa. In California it is the coast regions from San Luis Obispo south and Bakersfield. Southern Texas and southern Arizona also match this criteria. See more here

Plant a Graviola tree in rich well-drained soil with 5 to 6.5 pH.

How to plant soursop seeds to grow a tree

Soursop seeds

Soursop seeds are about 3/4 inch and are brown

Indoor graviola tree planting

  1. Wash soursop seeds and prepare a warm, shady indoor spot for germination.
  2. Plant the seeds in peat pots filled with potting soil, less than 30 days after harvesting from fruit.
  3. Keep the soil moist to the touch. Soursop seeds will germinate in 15 to 30 days if the are viable.

Outdoor graviola sapling planting

If you live in a suitable climate as noted above (no frost, warm tropical or sub-tropical temperatures) you can transplant seedlings outdoors, or accommodate the growth of a tall indoor potted tree in a greenhouse.

  1. Prepare a sunny, south-facing spot with wind protection in the garden and rake 2 inches of compost into the soil.
  2. Transplant 12-inch-high seedlings into the yard in the spring, spacing them at least 12 feet apart. Dig holes big enough to hold the root ball of each plant. Cover the base of the plant with soil
  3. Add 3 inches of mulch to keep moist.
  4. Water soursop plants often enough to keep the soil moist, but not wet, during hot weather.
  5. When the weather cools in the winter, be sure to reduce watering. Soursop plants can tolerate drought. That said they can develop pest problems if they are always wet.
  6. Provide soursop plants with 10-10-10 fertilizer, using a total of one-half pound of fertilizer per tree in the first year. Split the amount quarterly. In the 2nd year, raise the amount to 1 pound. Thereafter use 3 pounds of fertilizer per year.
  7. Reapply mulch annually to the trees.
  8. Widening the mulch application area to 5 feet as the tree’s root system expands.

Supplies list for growing a soursop tree

Soursop seed

You can plant seeds for up to 30 days after you remove them from the soursop fruit

Here are a list of supplies you will need to grow a soursop tree. The links take you to source where you can by the supplies:

How to harvest soursop fruit:

When soursop fruit is still firm and yellow-green in color, you can harvest it. Don’t allow the fruit to get soft on the tree. Ripen indoors. Store picked firm fruit in the refrigerator for several days until it becomes soft to the touch.

What is Soursop?

Learn about Soursop fruit

Below are common questions and answers about soursop. These facts were gathered from a variety of sources on- and offline.

"What

What is Soursop?

Soursop is a long, prickly fruit that comes from the graviola tree. It is an evergreen tree native to Malaysia, Vietnam, Mexico, the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America. It’s also known as custard apple, guanabana and Brazilian paw paw. See additional synonyms in the list below.

What are other words for soursop?

Soursop is known by a variety of different words. They include the following synonyms or related words:

  • Soursop
  • Graviola
  • Guanabana
  • Brazilian Paw Paw
  • Custard Apple
  • Custard Pear
  • Cherimoya
  • Annona muricata

Learn more about the origins of these words that are related or are direct synonyms to the word “soursop” and fruit. Click here.

Where does soursop grow?

Soursop grows in tropical climates and can be found growing naturally in Mexico, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia as well as Central and South America. It is grown in small volumes on farms in southern Florida. However the vast major of fresh soursop fruit sold in the US is grown in Grenada. Soursop leaves are imported into the US from all over the world including. This soursop store imports its premium leaves from Malaysia.

What does the soursop fruit and plant look like?

Soursop is a long, prickly fruit that comes from the Graviola tree.

Can I grow soursop at home?

You can obtain seeds and grow the soursop fruit at home provided you keep the tree it grows on in a warm tropical environment where the plant is exposed to lots of sunlight. In its natural habitat, the Graviola tree grows in tropical rainforests with high humidity. Learn more

Can I make soursop leaves into tea?

Soursop grows on a tree called the Graviola, and its leaves can be made into tea. It is the most affordable way to consume soursop to take advantage of its health benefits. See what soursop tea products are available.

Can eating soursop cure cancer?

This is a controversial topic and requires some extensive information and explanation. You can see a detailed discuss of this health claim in our “Can soursop cure cancer” post.

What does soursop taste like?

Fans of soursop describe its taste as a combination of pineapple and mango. Or some say strawberry and banana. Read more.