Paw Paw Recipes

[mikeycook]

We have a Paw Paw tree in our yard that is fruiting for the second time. Two years ago it gave off its first fruit (one) and last year, nothing. This year, however, I've counted three pretty good size fruit and was thinking of using them in a recipe (instead of just eating it plain like the first one.)

Have anybody used Paw Paws in recipes? To me it taste a bit like a cross between a banana and a pear, so I was thinking of some kind of tart, but I am really open to suggestions.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Have anybody used Paw Paws in recipes?  To me it taste a bit like a cross between a banana and a pear, so I was thinking of some kind of tart, but I am really open to suggestions.

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Open to suggestions, huh? How about these for a start?

more ideas?

I have never eaten paw paws but learned a song about them:

Way Down in the Paw Paw Patch ... nice tune here as well ...

[mikeycook]

Wow. I wish I had more Paw Paws.

Right now Paw Paw ice cream definitely looks attractive (although I might not feel like it come Oct/Nov).

[ladyyoung98]

what exactly is a paw paw? ive heard of them but ive no clue what sort of fruit they r

[Gifted Gourmet]

what exactly is a paw paw?

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more information on the paw paw

Millspaugh, in American Medicinal Plants, describes the fruit as "soft, sweet and insipid, having a taste somewhat between that of the May-apple and the banana, tending to the former.

[curlywurlyfi]

I grew up in West Africa where they grew wild in the garden. My mother used to serve seeded halved pawpaws topped with finely crumbled crispy bacon + a squeeze of lime as a dinner party starter. Fabulous. Cubes of (even slightly underripe) pawpaw are also good as a garnish alongside poached chicken breast with a creamy curry mayonnaise.

PS don't eat the seeds - they are very, um, loosening.

[mikeycook]

PS don't eat the seeds - they are very, um, loosening.

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Now that's a good tip.

[nathanm]

I grew up in West Africa where they grew wild in the garden.  My mother used to serve seeded halved pawpaws topped with finely crumbled crispy bacon + a squeeze of lime as a dinner party starter.  Fabulous.  Cubes of (even slightly underripe) pawpaw are also good as a garnish alongside poached chicken breast with a creamy curry mayonnaise.

PS don't eat the seeds - they are very, um, loosening.

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I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure you are talking about two different fruits.

In some parts of the world paw-paw is another name for papaya (Carica papaya), and I think that this the is West African fruit described above. Papaya is native to Mexico but has been widely cultivated around the world in tropical conditions, including in West Africa.

The American paw-paw (Asimina triloba) is the largest fruit tree native to North America. It's range is from Nebraska to the Eastern seaboard, and from Ontario to Florida. It is not a tropical plant at all, but is frequently compared to one because. I am pretty sure that the paw-paw described in the initial post is this version. It is not grown very much commercially, but there are some varieties people plant in their gardens. I have a several trees, but they have not fruited yet.

Here is a web site that has information about the paw-paw. Kentucky State University has a research web site that lists lots more information.

[nathanm]

Here are recipes from the Kentucky State web site.

[Ktepi]

We buy pawpaws at the Farmer's Market every year from the guy I call The Weird Stuff Guy (other things we've gotten from him include beechnuts, spiceberries, white currants, and Northstar sour cherries which not only led to the best pies I've had but the best bourbon-soaked cherries and thus changed the way I drink by elevating my old-fashioneds). Other than eating them out of hand, last year I added them to a large batch of the manchamantel sauce on Chuck Taggert's site (if I remember right, it was in addition to everything listed, not in lieu of everything -- but I've made the sauce a few times and it's pretty flexible/modular).

This year, I've been playing with the Nesco dehydrator a lot and made pawpaw fruit leather, which was pretty good but might have been better combined with some other fruit -- it's a shame pawpaws and strawberries aren't in season at the same time. But I dried some of the leather further so I could grind it in the coffee grinder, and am going to use it as a final touch in something -- cheesecake, maybe, or creme brulee, definitely something rich and creamy.

If he has more on Saturday, I'm going to have to make one of those breads or cakes, maybe freeze it for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

[eje]

The tropical fruit Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) is closest related to is the Cherimoya or Custard Apple.

Other plants in the same family include Ylang Ylang, Guanabana and Sweetsop.

-Erik