soursop benefits

I am so excited to introduce all of you to my first guest poster, Marnely. As soon as I “met” Marnely on Twitter I knew we would become good friends. She is funny, kind hearted, and so easy to talk to. Nelly is a native of the Dominican Republic but has lived in many different places. She is trained in pastry and this is evident in her blog posts, she knows what she is talking about. And now let me hand it over to Nelly.

Guest Post from Cooking with Books: Soursop

This spiny green monster is the Soursop!

This might be a reality check for some BigFatBaker readers, but…rhubarb season in non-existent in the Dominican Republic. For the past two weeks, I’ve been bombarded, through Twitter and Facebook, with Rhubarb like it was the Rapture and even Erin made some Rhubars, Heather from Farmgirl Gourmet made Rhubarb Crunch Cake, Mike did a guest post on A Thought for Food with Rhubarb and Vanilla Compote with Coconut and Syrup …. and the list goes on!

With all the rhubarb posts, talks and even tweet-chats, it made me think….what else is the US producing that may seem common to you, but uncommon to me, a baker in the middle of the Caribbean Sea?

Well, for starters, blueberries. I rarely get to see these tiny gems in their fresh form and when I do, they’re shipped all the way from California and are sad, tiny and flavorless. Berries in general are scarce in Dominican Republic: blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, boysenberries. You’ll rarely find Meyer Lemons or your run of the mill greens such as Swiss Chard, Collard Greens or Broccoli Rabe.

If you ever have a chance to visit the Dominican Republic, don’t miss out on trying all our fruits, which you can find at the grocery stores and mostly likely, on the streets. Fruit vendors are all around and will peel, cut and even drizzle honey over your fresh fruit. Today I’m sharing a tropical fruit that definitely fits the phrase “Don’t judge a book by it’s (spiny) cover!”

Soursop is a tropical fruit, mostly found in Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and the Caribbean, as well as other Latin American countries. It’s flavors are a mix of strawberry (tart) and pineapple (acidic and sweet), with a creamy texture that resembles a soft banana and some say coconut.

I wanted to share with you a fresh summer drink, that will only use your blender! No heat-producing equipment is needed and this is what everyone tries to avoid during the summer! In Brazil, this drink is known as ”Champola” and is drank on hot days!

Ingredients

1 cup chopped soursop or 1/2 cup soursop puree
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
sugar, to taste

Preparation

If using fresh soursop, blend chunks of fruit with water and strain to remove inedible seeds.
Pour this back into the blender and blend with milk and vanilla.
Add sugar to taste. If too think, add more milk!
Pour over glass with ice cubes and enjoy this refreshing summer drink!

You can find Soursop in Latin and Mexican markets, and if not, check this online shop for purees made from fresh soursop.

Soursop Health Benefits

Excellent source of Vitamin C, so if the change of weather has you
“under the weather”, eat some soursop!
If eaten fresh, a great source of natural fiber and we all know what
this means!
Great source of Niacin, a vitamin that some studies show to have
benefits on the levels od HDl, the good cholesterol (great way to balance
all the bacon you’re eating lately!)

Read more health benefits here. This post is brought to you with lots of Caribbean love, from me to you, darling BigFatBaker readers! Hope you enjoyed it and go out there and get some fresh soursop! Discovering new fruits and veggies is what life is all about, right?