Unusual Asian fruits, part 2

In my last post, I described a few fruits that I've discovered in my travels in SE Asia, and today I'm going to look at three more. You may be able to find some of these in larger towns or specialty shops in the west (Jackfruit, described last time, can sometimes be found in London's Asian markets). Have you tried any of these? Let me know what you thought in the comments.
	Sugar apple Other names: This fruit (Annona squamosa) is sometimes know as the sweetsop, and sometimes called the custard apple (not to be confused with a related fruit, Annona reticulata, which is also known as a custard apple). Appearance: Like a hand grenade kissed a pinecone. Then got ripe and quishy. Normally they're green, but some varietals are reddish or purple, which looks pretty but tastes pretty much the same. Inside, you'll find a large number of small, hard seeds (resembling large apple pips) covered in a layer of off-white goo. The goo is the stuff you eat. Texture: They claim the texture inside is like custard. It's not. If you were ever served custard with a grainy texture like this, you'd send it back. It's not unpleasant though. Expect to spend at least 20 minutes trying to eat a small one of these - you need to break or cut one open and scoop out the goo with a teaspoon, then in your mouth separate out the seeds so you can spit them out. Don't make any plans, as you're here for a while.
Flavour and aroma: Very sweet, but not a lot of flavour. I've tried to put my finger on what it tastes like, so I can explain it, but all I taste is sweetness. These are nicest served chilled from the fridge. Yummy rating: I'm starting to see why only certain tropical fruits, like oranges, mangos, and bananas, have become popular world-wide. These are nice enough, but just so much work.

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Winter date Other names: Winter jujube. These are the same fruits that, in their dried form, become the red Chinese dates used in soup. Huh. I'd always assumed those were some kind of plum, but obviously I was wrong. It's good to learn new things.

Appearance: They look like very small, brown apples. Each one is about the size of a small crab-apple or plum. The flesh is white inside, with a single small seed. Texture: Very crisp and firm, like an Asian pear. Definitely crisper than your typical apple, and the skin is very thin but still has some solidity under your teeth. Flavour and aroma: Under-ripe, these have a mild, slightly sweet taste. Fully ripe, they're sweeter but still have a very mild flavour. There's no noticeable texture change that I can see between under-ripe and fully ripe, so you'll only know by taste. Leave them too long, however, and they'll go squishy and start to smell slightly fermented. Yummy rating: These are okay, easy to snack on.

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Cempadak Appearance: They look like smaller jackfruits - a football sized horny green skin, with bright yellow fleshy interior, housing large seeds. Texture: The texture is softer and squishier than jackfruit, and each segment has some kind of tough membrane that doesn't break down under your teeth, so it feels like chewing on plastic wrap. I chewed my first bite for more than 2 minutes before I gave up and spat out the membrane. To eat it more easily, first cut or break off a segment and peel the flesh off the seed, then scrape your teeth along the fleshy side, like you would with an artichoke leaf. That way you can get the flesh into your mouth without the membrane.

Flavour and aroma: A cross between durian and jackfruit (described in my last post). Admittedly, if you haven't tried either that's not going to tell you much. Think really sweet, almost a lightly fermented taste. The aroma is similar to fruit salad with just a hint of sweat socks, and has a habit of hanging around (your whole kitchen will smell like the fruit for a couple of days after you've eaten it). Yummy rating: Frankly, I think both durian and jackfruit are nicer than cempadak, so I'd go for one of those in preference.