The soursop is a wild fruit that blooms during Panama's summer, ideal due to its tropical climate and lowlands, where it is very common to find plantations of this tree.
About its origin
Originating from South America, from northeastern Brazil, the Colombian coast, and southern Venezuela; this fruit is better known for its seed, which is called cashew, nut of India, meray, or cashew nut. Interestingly, the seed is the true fruit of the soursop, as it grows inside a nut that is exposed on the outside of the apple or pseudofruit.
In Panama, it is very common to find street stalls along the country's interior roads, where toasted seeds are sold, processed in an artisanal manner by farmers and peasants.
These cashews are toasted over direct flame in a rather laborious process that requires a lot of dedication and skill, resulting in a delicious smoky flavor that gives them a special taste.
Culinary traditions
In Panamanian cuisine, many culinary traditions use soursop in all its splendor to prepare delicious typical products.
Although the pseudofruit has a very astringent flavor, it is used to prepare the traditional soursop juice or in the making of wines, juices, preserves, and the delicious soursop sweet served garnished with toasted cashews.
This sweet was traditionally enjoyed during Carnival festivities and Holy Week Easter.
Over the years, many of these traditions have disappeared, since the production of soursop is becoming less frequent. It is now rare to find vendors offering these typical delights, which is unfortunate as it represents the loss of cultural traditions of the people.
