Babz Bites: Pawpaw

Babz Bites: Pawpaw

By Chef Babz Nartowicz

Job interviews can be a lot of things, but they are at the very least interesting. One of my all-time favorite job interviews was for a culinary teaching position. The interviewing candidates were each told to prepare for the presentation of a culinary subject that aligned with the school’s curriculum. Without hesitation, my brain instantly turned to the magical great North American Pawpaw.

Well, the presentation worked! Even as a Culinary Instructor, it still astonishes me how many people have never heard of the pawpaw. The class always has a unit on identifying fruits, and when the subject is covered, perhaps one student may have heard of the pawpaw. If I’m lucky one of their other knowledgeable classmates may be able to recall seeing the indigenous fruit growing on their papaws farm. The color ranges in green, yellow, and even dark flecks. Think banana colors when picking. Sometimes the best fruit has already fallen and may be beginning to darken.

The interview panel’s pawpaw knowledge was very similar to most of my future classes. None of them had ever tasted a pawpaw before either. In my opinion, this was where the pawpaw really helped steal the show.

After shining a light on my favorite fruit, I asked everyone to enjoy a pawpaw lassi with me. This mix of pawpaw, local yogurt and honey, with a little coarse salt was the flavor everyone’s morning needed.

Last week I got my favorite phone call of the season, “Would you like some pawpaws?” I’m so glad to be on folks pawpaw radar. When I say ripe, I mean ripe. You can smell them before you walk into a room. Similar to a peach in flesh, the pawpaw is soft with a strong fruity aroma. A really ripe pawpaw can be eaten right then and there.

The maroon colored flowers of the pawpaw tree appear in the spring but the clusters of fruit ripen in the fall. Harvest season in our valley is late August through mid-October. Ripe fruit are easily picked with a gentle tug or shake of the tree. Just watch out for falling pawpaws. Remember, they are a large fruit.

When I arrived to pick them up the pawpaw’s, the folks sharing the space with the boxes of the large fruit couldn’t get them into my car fast enough.

When a pawpaw is ready, it’s more than ready. A fully ripe fruit will only last a few days at room temperature. If you aren’t using it immediately, refrigerate it, this will help it last about a week. If you pick it before it’s ripe, it may keep for about three weeks. And similar to a banana, finish ripening at room temperature.

You are probably wondering, if they are so abundant why don’t I see them in the grocery store? These ripening techniques are what keep the pawpaw out of most shop shelves commercialized foods. Still enjoyed in modern America, but primarily in rural areas. The largest edible fruit in the United States, these indigenous delights can be found in 26 states in 27 varieties ranging from Florida, Southern Ontario, and eastern Nebraska. Records of European explorers, settlers, Native Americans, and wild animals have provided evidence that this delicious and nutritious fruit sustained folks for hundreds of years on over. Exotic, flavorful, and yes, native to our region.

Curious and eager to find some pawpaws to get your paws on? Look no further than you or your neighbor’s backyard, or even our local Cummins Nature Preserve. It’s pawpaw season. Most pawpaw enthusiasts can agree, the best way to enjoy pawpaws is to eat them raw, outdoors, picked from the tree when they are perfectly ripe. They are delicious just the way they are. If you get a hold of some pawpaws and are looking for a few different ways to enjoy them, I have included a few of my favorite pawpaw recipes to try.

Not sure what to do with your pawpaws? I always process the fruit and freeze the pulp if I’m not using them immediately. Remember, they turn quickly when not refrigerated.

Good luck and enjoy!

Pawpaws are very nutritious. High in vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper, and manganese. They are a good source of potassium and several essential amino acids, and they also contain significant amounts of riboflavin, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and zinc. Pawpaws contain these nutrients in amounts that are generally about the same as or greater than those found in bananas, apples, or oranges.

Tips for removing the pawpaw goodness from the flesh:

Looking at each pawpaw, when ripe you will find a dark line tracing from one end to the other.

Using a paring knife, cut along the line and twist pawpaw open in a way similar to how you would cut open an avocado.

Once in two pieces, using a small spoon, remove the pits and scoop out the flesh. Remember, the flesh quickly oxidizes and changes color, also similar to an avocado, when exposed to air. Use immediately or add lemon juice to prevent this process from happening so quickly.

PAWPAW RECIPES

Pawpaw Cookies

1 1/2 cup pawpaw pulp

3/4 cup shortening

1 1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

3 cup sifted flour

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream the shortening and sugar thoroughly. Add beaten egg and pawpaw. Stir in the dry ingredients, which have been sifted together, and mix well. Form into small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Press into a round flat shape with the bottom of a glass that has been lightly greased. Bake in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Pawpaw Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep the loaf pan.

⅓ cup butter

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 ¾ cups sifted flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup mashed pawpaws

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup milk chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs

Sift dry ingredients together. Add to the butter mixture.

Fold in the pawpaw pulp, nuts and chocolate chips.

Pour into a loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean.

Pawpaw Pudding

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups ice cold water

1 package instant vanilla pudding mix

3 cups heavy cream

1 12-ounce box Nabisco Nilla Wafers

5 cups sliced pawpaws, sliced as best you can. Scoops will also work.

In a medium bowl, beat together sweetened condensed milk and water with a whisk until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the pudding mix and beat until mixture thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Cover pudding and let it set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to overnight.

In a large bowl, whip heavy cream with a whisk until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes. Fold in pudding mixture.

In a large bowl (or individual parfait glasses) assemble the pudding. First, lay one third of Nilla Wafers across the bottom of the bowl. Top with one third of the pawpaws. Cover with one third of the pudding mixture. Continue with two more layers, reserving a few Nilla wafers to lay across the top as garnish.

Let pudding set in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving. Can be made the day ahead but best served quickly as pawpaws will turn.

Pawpaw Punch

From “Pawpaw Daze Recipes,” Waynesville, MO and “Cooking with Pawpaws,” Kentucky State University, Frankfort Kentucky

1 pawpaw

1 ½ pints cold water

1 strip lime peel

1 pinch salt

Add sugar to taste

Wash and peel the pawpaw and mash into a bowl with lime peel.

Gradually stir in one pint of water.

Mix well and strain.

Add ½ pint of water. Mix.

Strain again. Be sure all the flavor is extracted. Add salt and sugar.

Chill before serving.

Pawpaw Lassi

Created by the chefs at Casa Nueva Restaurant in Athens, Ohio. Winner of “Best Drink” at the 1999 Ohio Pawpaw Festival.

Makes about six cups.

½ cup water

4 cups plain yogurt

⅔ cup honey

½ tsp salt

1 cup pawpaw pulp

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Blend together all ingredients until smooth. Serve cold.

The recipes in today’s article are from the kitchen of Chef Babz (babzbites@gmail.com) with help from the farmers, gardeners, and local crop cooking experts of the Ohio River valley.