Soursop

Soursop, Annona muricata, belongs to the custard-apple family, Annonaceae. Its deepest roots are in the tropical Americas, most likely across a broad area that included parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Because Indigenous communities moved useful plants long before written records, botanists cannot draw a simple boundary around its original wild range.

The fruit was already cultivated in the Americas when Europeans arrived. Growers valued its large fruit, aromatic white pulp, and balance of sweetness and sharp acidity. Unlike some of its relatives from seasonally dry regions, soursop thrives in warm, humid climates and is sensitive to frost, which shaped where it could be planted successfully.

Colonial-era trade carried soursop across the Atlantic and Pacific. It became established in tropical Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and many Pacific islands, where it acquired new culinary roles in drinks, frozen desserts, sweets, and fresh preparations. This wide adoption sometimes leads to conflicting claims about its origin, but its botanical and historical beginnings are American.

Today, soursop is grown throughout the tropics, including Mexico, the Caribbean, Brazil, Colombia, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. In the United States, production is limited mainly to frost-free areas such as Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and southern Florida. The fruit remains highly perishable, so it is often enjoyed near where it is grown or processed into pulp, juice, and purée.