Custard Apple Processing

Description

Custard apple, (Annona squamosa L.) is one of the important fruit crops of Andhra Pradesh. Nearly, 75,000 tonnes of this fruit is available from the state. Custard apple is a hardy crop, which can be grown on marginal lands with minimum inputs. Custard apple, popularly known as sharifa or sitaphal is grown in about 40,000 ha in India mainly in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Tamil nadu and grows wild in Deccan plateau and some parts of central India.

Custard apple is considered as one of the delicious and nutritionally valuable fruit meant for table purpose. Fruits have an edible, soft, granular, juicy and sugary pulp with mild flavor and with slight acidity. Fruits are considered for their medicinal value besides their general use in ice cream, Custard powder, jam, confectionery and certain milk products.