Papaya: Not Just a Trendy Clothing Company

Papayas are a pear shaped tropical fruit that can be found in the HEB tropical fruit section, right next to other exotic fruits that exude a much more alien vibe. The skin is yellow and light green that has a rubbery look to it. It doesn’t immediately smell from the outside, but once you cut it open, you get a light smell of a mango-pineapple smell with a hint of light powder. I choose the Papaya not only for its relatively cheap price, but also because I had had most of the fruits in the produce section, with the exception of the tropical fruits. Normally, I try to avoid this section because I am allergic to certain mangos and have occasional food allergies. I decided to take a chance with the papaya because I have wanted to try one for quite a long time. I originally thought they were Guavas because HEB had mislabeled them, but after looking for them on the internet, I was perplexed to see what I grabbed was not a guava at all!

According to Julia Morton in her book Fruits of Warm Climates (1987), papayas are believed to originate from Southern Mexico. Due to high trade traffic in the region, the popularity of the papaya quickly spread throughout the Bahamas, Central America, and even as far as the Philippines. The fruit grows in tropical regions, with most commercial fruits being grown in Hawaii of the “Solo” variety. Other larger varieties from Southern Mexico exist as well. Papayas are usually eaten fresh with the occasional seeds because they contain a peppery flavor, however unripe papayas are nearly inedible because they have high concentrations of white latex (who knew you could find it in fruit?). If you would like to read an in-depth view of the papaya you can go to https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/papaya_ars.html, where this information was sourced. 

 
I plan on eating this fruit raw in order to get a pure taste of the fruit so that I can really tell if I enjoy it. I chose this method because I feel like cooking fruit or mixing it with other fruits really conceals its flavor profile. The fruit itself is very easy to cut with an almost rubbery texture; as soon as you cut it open, you can smell a sweet powder smell, and a flesh that looks like a salmon color with more yellowish flesh on the inside. The seeds look almost exactly like black peppercorns, and as Morton (1987) mentions, they apparently taste like them too. I am not too keen on seeds, so I scooped them out and threw them away. The taste and texture of the fruit itself is definitely not what I was expecting. When I first took a bite, there was hardly any taste to the fruit at all and the flesh gave off a powdery texture. It tasted like pure fiber or really unripe cantaloupe with a mango after taste. I decided at this point that maybe the fruit wasn’t totally ripe, so I put it in a bag overnight to see if it would improve. In the morning, I found the fruit to be riper. The taste was sweet with a slight hint of musk, but it still had a powdery aftertaste. The taste also held a slight tang at the end. The texture is smooth but still firm and slightly slippery. Although, after eating it the second time, I started having a slight allergic reaction (which may explain the tangy taste), so this will be the last time I try Papaya.