Eat raw, use in fruit salads, add to mashed bananas, make into ice-cream and sorbets, drinks, desserts, fillings for cakes and as an accompaniment to spicy dishes such as curry. Complementary flavours are cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, orange, honey and vanilla.

Tip - put custard apple flesh in a blender and whiz for 2 seconds only, the seeds will scoop out easily.

Serve beside yoghurt and orange juice soaked muesli for a fresh energy packed breakfast. Spoon out pulp and mix with sour cream or yoghurt for a parfait dish. Add segments to a prawn or seafood cocktail.

Great!To make a quick delicious drink scoop flesh into blender and add any of the following in a 50/50 ratio; orange juice, milk and coffee, strawberries, milk with nutmeg on top, ginger ale. A cocktail comes alive with 400g custard apple flesh, juice of 1 lemon. 185ml gin. Mix, cover and chill. Pour into chilled glasses garnish with mint and lemon.

Jade Kiss Cocktail is made with 1 small custard apple, 125ml pineapple juice. 1/4cup white rum, 125ml fresh orange juice, juice of 1 lemon. crushed ice. Remove seed. blend flesh. add all other ingredients and blend. Pour into tall glasses and decorate with a slice of orange. Serve cut wedges on a fruit/cheese platter.

Spoon into meringue cases with cream.

Try spooning flesh cup of custard apple flesh into a parfait glass, add pulp of l passion fruit, add 1 cup custard, top with whipped cream.

See also the Recipes section