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Abb.235 (#E3):
The "soursop" fruit originally comes from Brazil, from a tree called "Graviola" there. Therefore, in Brazil the fruit is called "Graviola", while in Spanish it is called "Guanabana". The name "soursop" is its English name. "Soursop" looks like a giant, green, inedible European chestnut. (Click here to see what a single "soursop" fruit looks like.) The diameter of a typical "soursop" fruit is about 20 cm.
If eaten raw, this fruit has a sour-sweet taste. I personally don't particularly like it, as it is too sour for me. However, my brother, who likes sour fruits, always enjoys it. Fortunately, the sweetness of the "soursop" compensates for its sense of sourness, so that I, too, am able to eat it, although I am not fond of it. It is eaten when cut into thick leaves, taking out with a spoon the mushy, watery contents filling its interior. All the contents inside are edible, except for the green peel. The contents have the consistency of white pudding, except that pudding is never sour-sweet, while this fruit is - and strongly so.
The "soursop" fruit is also used to make a variety of juices which the more adventurous visitors can enjoy in the tropics. These juices are typically sweetened, hence they do not taste so sour at all. If one makes them oneself, in one's own home and from fresh fruit (which is recommended for Europeans for hygienic reasons), then they taste best if sweetened with honey from wild tropical bees. (Juices bought on the streets are sweetened with sugar.) Juices made from a mixture of "soursop" fruit and "guava" fruit are the tastiest.
In 2009, one of these "circulation letters" circulated on the Internet fell into my hands. The letter cites research reportedly published in the Journal of Natural Products and checks conducted at the Catholic University of South Korea. According to these, the chemicals contained in the "soursop" fruit are said to kill colon cancer cells about 10,000 more potently than the commonly used chemotherapy drug called "Adriamycin." So the text of this circulation letter includes the encouragement "The next time you have a taste for some juice, drink juice from 'soursop' ". Of course, I am NOT a medical doctor, nor do I have the conditions to verify the statements from this circulating letter. (I do, however, have a copy of this letter in my computer and will gladly make it available upon request.) Therefore, I am NOT in a position to confirm or deny whether his statements describe scientific facts, or whether they are e.g. just a clever advertisement of some "soursop" fruit grower. However, I know that the juice from "soursop" fruit tastes delicious (especially if sweetened with honey and mixed with guava juice), so if only for this reason I recommend to drink it whenever the reader has an opportunity to do so.
In terms of the energy it contains, "soursop" is one of the "neutral" fruits. The Chinese claim that you can overeat it at will.
