How to cook papaya

Information for papaya in our free cooking ingredients collection.

Papaya

Papayas are round to oval fruits that have a smooth, thin skin. When ripe, papayas have yellow skin and firm, sweet flesh that ranges from yellow-orange to salmon pink. Numerous tiny black seeds are clustered in the center of the fruit.

Family - Caricaceae
Scientific name - Carica papaya
Common name - papaya, tree melon

High in vitamin C

Varieties

Of the two types of papayas, Hawaiian and Mexican, the Hawaiian is the smaller, pear-shaped type that is generally found in supermarkets. A whole Hawaiian papaya weighs about a pound. The Mexican papaya is usually larger and more elongated, often weighing up to 10 pounds. This variety usually has darker flesh and, although the flavor is less intense than that of its Hawaiian counterpart, it is still quite juicy and delicious. Mexican varieties include Mexican Yellow and Mexican Red, named for the flesh color. The most common Hawaiian variety is called the Solo.

Origin and botanical facts

Although the papaya is native to southern Mexico and Central America, it is now grown in every tropical and subtropical country. Brazil is the leading producer of papayas in the world, dominating exports to Europe. Mexico is the largest supplier of papayas to the United States and Canada. The United States crop is concentrated in Hawaii and is used to supply papayas to Japan and Canada.

Technically an herb, the papaya tree can grow to 10 or 12 feet in height. Mexican varieties are usually taller. A thin, cylindrical, non-woody trunk is topped off by spiraling leaves that contain five to nine main segments each. All parts of the plant contain large amounts of latex. The fruits, which hang from short, thick peduncles at the base of the leaves, are usually harvested at color break (when a streak of yellow appears in the green) and should still exhibit some green in the supermarket.

Papaya plants exist in one of three sex types: male, female, and hermaphrodite. Male plants have tubular flowers but bear no fruit. Female plants have round flowers and bear round fruits. Hermaphrodite plants have characteristics of both male and female flowers and produce the pear-shaped fruit that is preferred by consumers. Some plants produce flowers of more than one sex type, depending on climatic factors. High temperatures seem to favor male flowers. Papaya seeds can remain viable for years if storage conditions are dry and cool.

How to cook papaya

Papayas ripen in 3 to 5 days at room temperature, and ripe fruit can be stored in the refrigerator for a week. Because cold temperature permanently halts the ripening process, unripe fruits should not be refrigerated.

Papaya is usually eaten raw. Its cool, bland flavor complements spicy foods. Green papayas contain latex and should not be eaten raw, but they can be cooked and used in salsa or added to stews and soups. Papayas cannot be used in gelatin desserts because an enzyme in the fruit prevents the gelatin from solidifying.

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