Soursop is a wild fruit that blooms in the Panamanian summer, ideal due to its tropical climate and lowlands, where plantations of this tree are very common.
About its origin
Native to South America, from northeastern Brazil, the Colombian coast, and southern Venezuela; this fruit is better known for its seed, which is called cashew, nuez de la India, merengue, or cajú. Curiously, the seed is the actual 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 roasted seeds are sold, processed manually by farmers and peasants.
These cashews are roasted over direct charcoal fire in a quite 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, there are many culinary traditions that use soursop in its full splendor to make delicious traditional products.
Although the pseudofruit has a rather astringent flavor, it is used to prepare the traditional soursop chicha or also in making wines, juices, preserves, and the delicious soursop sweet, which is served garnished with roasted cashews.
This sweet was traditionally enjoyed during Carnival celebrations and Holy Week.
Over the years, many of these traditions have disappeared, as soursop production has become less frequent. That is why it is rare to find stalls offering these typical delights, which is unfortunate because it represents the loss of the cultural traditions of the people.
