What Is Papaya?

Papaya is a tropical fruit with orange-colored, sweet flesh and edible seeds that have a pepperlike flavor. The papaya tree is grown in Mexico, South America, and many other tropical areas around the world. It's used often in Asian, Thai, Caribbean, and Indian cuisines, either raw or cooked. Papaya can be found in a variety of dishes from salads and chutneys to stir-fries and desserts. It's also tasty in beverages and smoothies. Choosing the ripest fruit is important for getting the best flavor. Papaya has a short shelf life, so it needs to be prepared quickly. 

What Is Papaya?

Papaya is native to Mexico and South America. It is also grown in tropical locations around the world and is a common crop in Hawaii. The fruit is harvested when the skin is a yellow-green color, turning yellow as it ripens. The flesh inside is typically orange, though some varieties are pink or red. The black seeds are edible; the skin is not. Although the fruit can weigh up to 20 pounds, the average papaya in the market is about 6 inches long, pear-shaped, and weighs no more than 2 pounds. Papaya is also known as pawpaw, mamao, and tree melon.

Papaya needs to be cut open to get at the flesh and seeds. It may be eaten raw or cooked and is one of the pricier fruits in markets. Some recipes use green papaya, which is fruit that is not fully ripe, has seeds that are typically white, and is treated more like a vegetable. Green papaya is typically found in Asian cuisines and should be cooked before eating.

How to Cook With Papaya

Ripe papaya can be eaten raw. It can also be baked, sautéed, stir-fried, or pureed, depending on the recipe. When cut in half and hollowed out, the skin also makes a nice serving dish. Papaya seeds can be rinsed under running water and dried, then ground and used like black pepper.

To prepare fresh papaya, cut it in half lengthwise, then remove and save the seeds. Use a melon baller to scoop out the flesh, or eat it right out of the skin with a spoon. You can also remove the skin with a knife, then cut the flesh into slices or wedges. For fresh preparations, squeezing a little lime juice over papaya enhances the flavor.

What Does It Taste Like?

The papaya gets sweeter as it ripens, so the taste will range from mild to rather sweet. The flavor is often compared to cantaloupe and mango. The flesh has a creamy texture that melts in your mouth.

Papaya Recipes

Papaya is often found in fruit salads. It's also an interesting fruit to use in marinades, salsas, and chutneys, as well as savory dishes and tropical desserts.

• Papaya and Milk Smoothie
• Som Tam: Green Papaya Salad
• Spiced Papaya Pie

Where to Buy Papaya

Fresh papaya is available year-round in most markets. It is generally easy to find and sold by the individual fruit. It can seem a little expensive compared to other fruits, but the price is dependent on the season. The peak seasons for Hawaiian papayas (most common in U.S. markets) are from April through June and from October through December. Some markets also carry chopped fruit in juice in the produce department. Papaya nectar is available canned and bottled.

Select fruit that is mostly yellow with a bit of green and let it fully ripen at home. Ripe fruit should be firm yet yield to gentle pressure, feel heavy for its size, and have smooth skin with no blemishes. As long as it's not a result of bruises or cuts, a few black or moldy spots are OK and will not affect the flavor. The ripe papaya should have a sweet aroma. Avoid fruit that is overly soft unless you intend to puree and use it immediately.

Storage

Papaya will ripen within a few days at room temperature and even faster in a paper bag. Once ripe, it will quickly turn to mush if not properly stored. Leave the skin on while the fruit ripens. Ripe papaya should be refrigerated to slow down the ripening process; whole fruit should keep in a plastic bag for about a week.

To freeze, pack cut papaya in rigid containers or heavy-duty plastic freezer bags. Cover with a 30 percent sugar solution (4 cups water to 2 cups sugar) and freeze for up to 10 months. The thawed fruit will be soft and best in a partially thawed state for fresh applications. It will be fine for cooking, although not quite as firm as fresh. You can also pop the thawed fruit into a blender for a puree or add a bit of water for juice. Frozen fruit is a great smoothie addition and can be used instead of ice.

Papaya vs. Mango

The papaya and mango are both tropical fruits that are often confused with one another. Papaya has more of a squash shape with an elongated neck, while the mango typically has a round or oval shape. Where the papaya has yellow-green skin, a mango's is a gradient of green, red, and yellow. Cutting the two open really reveals the biggest difference as mango flesh is a bright yellow with a single, large seed. Mango is also sweeter, with an interesting spicy-floral flavor. The two fruits are used in similar food preparations and often paired with one another.

Varieties

There are many varieties of papaya grown throughout the world. Solo is the papaya varietal that was introduced to Hawaii and Barbados in the early 1900s. It is a pear-shaped fruit, between 1 and 2 pounds, and has red-orange, very sweet flesh. The cultivars developed from the Solo papaya is most often found in markets. Today, Hawaii is well known for Kamiya, Kapoho Solo, Rainbow, and Sunrise papayas; they vary slightly in size and sweetness.

Mexican red and Mexican yellow papayas are both very large, sometimes growing up to 10 pounds. The flesh color reflects the name and neither is as sweet as the Hawaiian varieties. Among other papayas, including those grown in Asian countries, the sizes and shapes vary even more, from very long to dwarf varieties.