Fruits That Look Like Soursop
Several fruits share a visual resemblance to soursop, either because of their bumpy, spiny, or scaly skin or because they come from the same botanical family (Annonaceae). While their tastes and textures differ, these fruits can often be mistaken for one another, especially at a glance.
1. Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) – also called Custard Apple
Cherimoya is typically green, heart-shaped, and has a smooth or slightly lumpy rind. While not as spiny or prickly as soursop, its size, skin texture, and interior resemble a smoother version of guanabana. Its flesh is soft, fragrant, and tastes like a blend of banana, pineapple, and bubblegum.
2. Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa) – also called Sweetsop
This fruit has distinct scale-like segments and a bumpy green or yellowish rind. While smaller than soursop, it shares the same family and has creamy white flesh inside. The fruit is highly aromatic, sweet, and eaten fresh or blended into desserts.
3. Atemoya (Annona × atemoya)
A hybrid of cherimoya and sugar apple, atemoya has a heart-shaped or rounded body with bumpy, pale-green skin. Near the stem, the bumps are more pronounced like sugar apple, but toward the base, it smooths out like cherimoya. The flesh is creamy and not segmented, and the flavor is sweet with a slight tang—often described as custardy with citrus hints.
4. Rollinia (Rollinia mucosa) – also called Biriba or Amazon Custard Apple
Large and conical or round, Rollinia’s yellow skin is soft and covered in fleshy spines, giving it a shaggy or spiky look like soursop. The flesh is tender, jelly-like, and lemony-sweet—often compared to lemon meringue. It’s a close visual match and comes from the same family.
5. Ilama (Annona macroprophyllata) – also called Soncoya or Sincuya
This lesser-known fruit is cone- or heart-shaped with green to purplish skin and deep grooves. Some varieties have pink or red flesh, setting them apart from soursop’s white pulp, but the exterior can still appear quite similar in shape and texture.
6. Pond Apple (Annona glabra)
The pond apple does resemble soursop slightly on the outside, with its green, lumpy skin—though it’s smoother and more rounded. However, it’s really the interior that might cause confusion. When opened, pond apple reveals soft, white pulp with dark seeds, much like soursop. From a quick glance, especially if you’re unfamiliar with both, the fleshy white interior can easily be mistaken for guanabana.
7. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
Although not related botanically, jackfruit’s massive size and bumpy green skin often lead to confusion with soursop. However, its interior is entirely different—dry and fibrous rather than juicy—with a distinct tropical, banana-like flavor. Still, the resemblance from a distance is strong.