Papaya
The papaya, or pawpaw originated in Mexico and northern South America.
Green, unripe papaya may be cooked, but ripe fruits are best eaten raw, or dried and crystallised.
In Asia, the young leaves are also eaten, and the black seeds are also edible, with a sharp, spicy flavour. Like pineapple, papaya works well as a meat tenderiser, because it contains an enzyme called papain.
FORMATS
- Diced
- Snack diced
OTHER POINTS TO NOTE
Papaya trees come in three sexes - male, female and hermaphrodite Female trees need pollination to produce edible fruits, while the hermaphrodite is self-pollinating For this reason, most commercial papaya orchids are planted only with hermaphrodite trees
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
- Thailand
HARVEST
- September to October
VARIETIES
There are 22 different species of Carica papaya, but the most common differentiation between types is simply whether they are red fleshed and yellow fleshed.
NUTRIENT HIGHLIGHTS
- Very low in Saturated Fats and Cholesterol
- A source of dietary Fibre
- 94% of the calorific value comes from carbohydrates, of which nearly 73% are from natural sugars