We bought a freeze dryer, which is an investment, but freeze dried paw paw is fantastic and would sell well with a much longer shelf life. We sliced off what we could as "chips" and then pulped the rest. It only took one time getting really sick eating dehydrated paw paw (got too hot) for us to learn! That was one time too many far as we were concerned.
Do you have personal experience with eating a whole watermelon in one sitting? 😂
While this whole read got me to dreaming about pawpaw habanero chicken wraps, pawpaw beers, and pawpaw popsicles…the introduction to pawpaw margaritas stopped me in my tracks! Those look dreamy. Top of my list to try next pawpaw season.
I was surprised to read about your bad experience with wild pawpaws. Fruits from local wild trees are the only ones I've ever consumed and most are delicious. They do vary a lot, so I'm sure there are bad tasting ones out there. Also, ripeness is absolutely key -- too green or too ripe, even by a tiny amount, makes the difference between delicious and don't bother.
I've noticed that not only is all the online buzz about cultivars, there are also many problems with growing these cultivars, to the extent that most of what I read is dominated by discussion of overcoming these problems. While I realize there is always a trade-off, I feel that ignoring wild orchards, or using them only as sources of fresh genetics for cultivars improvement is a mistake. I have thousands of pawpaw trees (though due to suckering I realize many stands are genetically identical, in fact really one individual) requiring literally no inputs, and they experience no health problems ever. And they grow and spread incredibly fast, due to receiving nutrients from the mother tree or trees. Their potential as not only a food source, but for super quick land restoration, needs more attention.
I hope my comment didn’t leave the impression that all wild fruit taste that way… I’ve had numerous experiences with fantastic tasting wild trees. In my experience growing apples, cultivars respond and taste different depending on the location of the world they are planted. I’ve seen reports of people planting their favorite variety and then it fruited and was not even close to the flavor they had grown accustomed to and was hoping for. I’d imagine the same would be true for pawpaw but I’ve not heard anything to the effect yet. I agree with you. I’m a seed guy. I find my favorite tasting fruit and plant the seed. I grow more and more concerned with the genetic bottlenecking of our food crops every day so that’s my role to play.
Thank you for sharing Lynn. That’s great information.
That’s very interesting about location affecting taste. It’s something I’ve noticed with annual garden plants, but I’d never heard of the same thing with fruit trees. Makes sense though.
We bought a freeze dryer, which is an investment, but freeze dried paw paw is fantastic and would sell well with a much longer shelf life. We sliced off what we could as "chips" and then pulped the rest. It only took one time getting really sick eating dehydrated paw paw (got too hot) for us to learn! That was one time too many far as we were concerned.
I’ve read quite a few accounts of people reporting the same thing. Thanks for sharing Suzan. That’s great info. I appreciate it. 🙏🏼
We made Pawpaw salsa last year and it quickly became our favorite 😁
Duuuuuuude that sounds delicious! Next year, I’d love to try some if you have a recipe or extra to share.
We made several jars.........I'll get ya one
YESSSSS! Thank you Charlie!
Do you have personal experience with eating a whole watermelon in one sitting? 😂
While this whole read got me to dreaming about pawpaw habanero chicken wraps, pawpaw beers, and pawpaw popsicles…the introduction to pawpaw margaritas stopped me in my tracks! Those look dreamy. Top of my list to try next pawpaw season.
Fantastic article mister!!
I sure do. And the bellyache that occurred the next day was absolutely unrivaled. lol
I’m down to try our hand at making one of them there margaritas next year. I figured you’d like that one. Thanks pretty lady. I appreciate you. ❤️
I was surprised to read about your bad experience with wild pawpaws. Fruits from local wild trees are the only ones I've ever consumed and most are delicious. They do vary a lot, so I'm sure there are bad tasting ones out there. Also, ripeness is absolutely key -- too green or too ripe, even by a tiny amount, makes the difference between delicious and don't bother.
I've noticed that not only is all the online buzz about cultivars, there are also many problems with growing these cultivars, to the extent that most of what I read is dominated by discussion of overcoming these problems. While I realize there is always a trade-off, I feel that ignoring wild orchards, or using them only as sources of fresh genetics for cultivars improvement is a mistake. I have thousands of pawpaw trees (though due to suckering I realize many stands are genetically identical, in fact really one individual) requiring literally no inputs, and they experience no health problems ever. And they grow and spread incredibly fast, due to receiving nutrients from the mother tree or trees. Their potential as not only a food source, but for super quick land restoration, needs more attention.
I hope my comment didn’t leave the impression that all wild fruit taste that way… I’ve had numerous experiences with fantastic tasting wild trees. In my experience growing apples, cultivars respond and taste different depending on the location of the world they are planted. I’ve seen reports of people planting their favorite variety and then it fruited and was not even close to the flavor they had grown accustomed to and was hoping for. I’d imagine the same would be true for pawpaw but I’ve not heard anything to the effect yet. I agree with you. I’m a seed guy. I find my favorite tasting fruit and plant the seed. I grow more and more concerned with the genetic bottlenecking of our food crops every day so that’s my role to play.
Thank you for sharing Lynn. That’s great information.
That’s very interesting about location affecting taste. It’s something I’ve noticed with annual garden plants, but I’d never heard of the same thing with fruit trees. Makes sense though.
Nature never ceases to amaze and surprise me. lol