Of my wild harvesting friends, I am the most risk averse. If you can potentially die or get sick from eating something at the wrong time, and if I’m not starving, then I don’t eat it.
Pawpaws are the exception, their creamy, custardy innards– which when ripe taste like a mixture of mango and banana– is worth the potential stomach distress which occurs if not harvested at the right time or if you eat the green layer of the skin. I’ve eaten pawpaws in bread, pudding and ice cream, but truthfully it is hard to improve on just spooning out the innards straight from the ripe pawpaw being careful to avoid the green layer before the skin.
Pawpaw trees not only produce amazing fruit, but they look tropical so are always the one people ask about on garden tours. When I moved my lovely pawpaws were left behind, so I am starting over with a pawpaw I grew from seed. The years of drought have stunted them so it may be longer than the normal five years before fruit. Thankfully I have good friends that share their pawpaws with me.
How do you eat pawpaws?
