Mang Cau (Vietnamese Cherimoya)

After taking pictures of the budding pomegranates, I looked over at the sad-looking mang cau (Vietnamese cherimoya) tree in my youngest aunt's yard. Rather bare, isn't it? Can't see anything? Look closer. A lot closer. Really zoom in. A fruit! A very tiny fruit. Cherimoya are hermaphroditic and blossom as female but change to male in a matter of hours. They're notoriously difficult to pollinate, and even then aren't guaranteed to fruit. And even if they do fruit, they often fall from the tree before ripening. But all that hassle is totally worth it. A ripe cherimoya tastes like a cross between a very, very light pineapple and custard. Hence, their other name of custard apple. In Vietnamese, each variety has a different name. This version is called mang cau. Cathy of Gastronomy also has pictures of mang cau na (Vietnamese custard apples) and mang cau xiem (Vietnamese soursop). ***** 1 year ago today, a bounty of avocados resulted in guacamole.