Let's Eat Some Pawpaw!

Contributed by Trish Gau, The Hive Overland Park

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Have you ever tried pawpaw? Until a couple of years ago, I had never heard of this largest indigenous American fruit! It has many common names and is sometimes referred to as a "prairie banana" or "hillbilly mango". The pawpaw has a custard-like consistency when ripe and has tropical flavors of banana, papaya ,and mango. It is rarely found in stores because pawpaw easily bruise and do not ship well, but it does grow naturally in the middle to eastern US and southern parts of Canada. We happen to have many pawpaw patches along the trail behind our house so when someone gave us one on the trail a couple of years ago I knew I would have to figure out how to find this unique fruit myself!

Pawpaw produce maroon-brown flowers in the Spring before the leaves come out and I was surprised to notice how many of these emerged when I looked out for them. The trees are found in the understory of hardwood forests and the leaves become long and somewhat tropical looking as they grow. The fruit grow in clusters of two or three and become ripe in early fall when the pawpaw turns a little yellow - almost like a pear and they pull off easily from the stem when ready to harvest. This is what they look like when you cut them open:

They have multiple large broad seeds inside. Make sure you remove the seeds before eating as they are toxic when ingested. I brought some over to Marty and Tiffany to taste:

They definitely preferred the bread to the plain pawpaw, but give it a try yourself next fall when you are walking in the woods. Here are some recipes for the next time you find yourself a patch of pawpaw!

Pawpaw Bread

• 1 c. pawpaw puree

• 1/3 c. butter, softened

• 2/3 c. sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1¾ c. flour

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• ¼ tsp. baking soda

• ¾ tsp. salt

Cream butter, add sugar gradually, and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pawpaw puree. Sift together remaining dry ingredients and add in four portions, beating smooth each time. Pour batter into a greased, floured loaf pan and bake in a moderate oven (350 F) for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean. Cool on rack before slicing. Serve slices plain, buttered, with jam or cream cheese. Makes 1 loaf.

Pawpaw Berry Smoothie

• pulp of one large pawpaw, seeds removed

• 1/2 cup of your choice of milk (nut, oat, dairy, etc)

• one serving of your favorite vanilla or plain protein powder

• small banana

• 1 cup frozen berries

  
  

Add all ingredients to blender; blend until smooth!

Enjoy!