Sugar Apple: Taiwan's Sweet Crown Jewel

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Taste of Taiwan

Taiwan is globally recognized as a fruit kingdom, with sugar apple being one of its star players.

◤Text / iSee Taiwan Foundation Editorial Team

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Taiwan currently has the world's largest cultivation area for sugar apples and produces the highest quality fruit, making it one of Taiwanese people's favorite fruits. Taiwanese sugar apples are large with abundant flesh, featuring a smooth, creamy texture that's sweet but not cloying.

When chilled, they offer a refreshingly sweet taste, and when frozen, they taste remarkably like ice cream—delicious no matter how you enjoy them.

According to the Taiwan Prefecture Gazetteer, sugar apples, originally from tropical America, were introduced to Taiwan by Dutch missionaries. The initially imported variety had coarse scales, with small fruits that closely resembled lychees, earning them the name “foreign lychee.” Another theory suggests the fruit resembles the headdress of Shakyamuni Buddha, hence the Chinese name "shijia."

Taiwan's climate is ideal for sugar apple cultivation, and through continuous improvement, Taiwanese sugar apples have gained global recognition. The main harvest season runs from July through March of the following year. Winter conditions—with cooler temperatures and less rainfall—are particularly favorable for sugar apple growth, which is why fruit harvested from winter through early spring is generally considered superior to the summer crop.

Taitung Farmers' Association Uses Freezing Technology to Expand into European, American, and Northeast Asian Markets

Taiwan's sugar apple production is concentrated mainly in the eastern and southern regions, with Beinan Township in Taitung County being the largest growing area. There are two primary varieties: coarse-textured sugar apple (da-mu shijia) and pineapple sugar apple (Atemoya).

Pineapple sugar apple, also known as honey sugar apple or won-lai sugar apple (meaning "prosperity comes”), features jade-white flesh with a delicate fragrance and a creamy, refreshingly sweet taste. While it can't be peeled by hand and requires a knife to remove the skin and cut into pieces, its large size, few seeds, firm flesh texture, and subtle pineapple aroma make it Taiwan's flagship variety for export.

Da-mu sugar apple features round, pronounced scales and bouncy, chewy flesh that's sweet with a hint of tartness. When properly ripened, it can be peeled and eaten by hand or enjoyed with a spoon, offering a sweet, soft, creamy texture that becomes wonderfully ice cream-like when chilled.

In recent years, the Taitung Farmers' Association has partnered with export companies to successfully penetrate American and Japanese markets using freezing technology. The fruit has even made appearances at Taiwan National Day receptions in Tokyo and Osaka, creating new export opportunities for Taiwan's sugar apples.

Note: Names of varieties, publications, and individuals without established English equivalents are rendered using pinyin transliteration; refer to the original Chinese text for authoritative spellings.

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山蘇─台灣蕨類王國中的熱門菜

在可食用的蕨類植物中，山蘇，在一般菜市場都買得到了，配上小魚乾一炒，很家常的一道菜；過溝菜蕨（俗稱「過貓」）多半只在山產店吃得到。

山葵─阿里山上的台灣綠金傳奇

山葵，原生於日本及俄羅斯遠東地區，日語音讀為「わさび（Wasabi）」，台灣常以擬音「哇沙米」稱之。

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