Custard Apple Box (Pre-Order)

Annona reticulata, or Custard Apple, is one of our most prized rare fruits. Green varieties produce a fruit referred to as Green Custard Apple, while red varieties produce Red Custard Apple.

This fruit is related to Soursop, Rollinia, Sugar Apple, Atemoya, Cherimoya and many other delicious fruits in the Annonaceae family. Custard Apple is a tropical fruit tree native to the West Indies, Central America, and Mexico. 

The Custard Apple tree is a slow growing evergreen tree which produces large, softball-sized sugar-packed fruits which are either green or red, however, like Sugar Apples, Custard Apples are not like common apples at all.  In fact they are a type of Syncarp, a body of fruit formed from a cluster of many individual smaller fruits, which is the natural result of many fruiting flowers which share the same pollination receptacle in an inflorescence. An example of a common fruit which is also a Syncarp is the pineapple.

Custard Apples are immensely flavorful. The fruits are pleasantly sweet, with a flavor and consistency similar to a custard dessert. The fruit presents a complex blend of unique tropical flavors and scents, both with vast range and depth of flavor.

The inner fruit is soft and creamy. The fruit is generally sliced in half, or into quarters, and eaten with a spoon or by hand. Each fruit contains a handful of inedible seeds, which should be discarded (generally spit out like soursop seeds), as separating the seeds from the fruit before eating is laborious.

Custard Apples vary in size and shape, though they are generally between the size of a baseball and the size of a softball. Custard Apples must be picked from the tree at the proper stage in development, therefore our Custard Apple boxes ship ripe and will be ready to eat once it is soft to the touch and gives to gently applied pressure.  For some fruits this may take several days, however, you should monitor the fruit as this final stage of ripening occurs somewhat suddenly. We recommend placing a Pre-Order for Custard Apples, because the season is short for this delicious rare fruit, and the demand is very high. While the fruit is listed in season, please allow us 1-2 weeks to process and ship your order, as Custard Apples must only be picked at peak development. Do not store the fruit in a refrigerator until after it has fully ripened, as this may delay or suspend the ripening process. Custard Apples should be eaten once they are ripe, and any uneaten fruit may be kept refrigerated for several days. This is a delicious fruit you don’t want to miss out on!

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Why Our Fruits Are the Best: 

Our fruits are allowed to grow on the trees further into the growing season to allow proper fruit development for optimal flavor, vitamin and nutrient content.  Our fruits are picked from our own rare tropical fruit trees, from the trees of our local partners, collectors, and sourced internationally from sustainable organic niche farmers.  Follow us on Instagram @Fruitpeople_com

Please Note:  We are currently unable to ship this product to the following state(s): California.  This is in compliance with restrictions placed by the respective Department(s) of Agriculture regarding the importation and shipment of various tropical fruits, due to the potential ecological impact of the possible introduction of various foreign fruit fly species upon Agricultural Infrastructure within the listed state(s).  Please check out our other products as this restriction does not apply to all fruits & produce.  We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Pre-Orders will ship in the order they are received, as soon as the fruit is in season and ready to be picked.

• Small Box contains approximately 3-5 pounds of fruit
• Medium Box contains approximately 8-10 pounds of fruit

Box weight and amounts vary depending on fruit type, volume and density.  All boxes are shipped with sustainably produced biodegradable packing material instead of Styrofoam or bubble wrap.  See our Shipping Guide for more information pertaining to our shipping schedule.

Please be mindful of estimated delivery times for orders, as prolonged package exposure to outdoor weather conditions, such as snow or extreme heat, will affect perishable produce.

All boxes are assembled and shipped starting on Monday of the week following your purchase.  Please allow 1-2 weeks for your order to be shipped for any product which is in season.  Pre-Orders will ship the following season for each respective fruit type, see details below 

Pre-Orders:

When one of our fruits is not currently in season, or has sold out, we highly recommend placing Pre-Orders. Placing a Pre-Order of our rare and premium tropical fruits reserves your Box for the following season. When supply is low and demand is high, Pre-Orders are shipped first. Pre-Orders are shipped in the order in which they are received for each type of fruit. Your Pre-Order is shipped as soon as the fruits are in season and ready to be picked. Some fruits have only one season per year, others have multiple seasons.  Please refer to our Fruit Seasons Guide for more information. You don’t want to miss out on these delicious and sensational fruits!