Papayas

[Jenise]

For years I've been able to refer to papaya as the only fruit I didn't like. I'd tried it several times in various parts of the world (California, Thailand) and none connected. In fact, it's not just that none appealed, there was a flavor there that I just couldn't like, something that struck me as medicinal or plastic, by turns.

Then last year we stayed with friends in So Cal who served papaya for breakfast. Comparatively short as papaya go, this fruit was around 6-7" long and yellow-orange fleshed, I was directed to squirt it with both fresh lime and blood orange juice, and it was delicious.

So a few weeks ago when I saw these large Carribean papayas (about a foot long) at Costco, advertised as red-fleshed, I bought one. I left it on the counter for a few days to ripen, then opened it. EUW! Both medicinal and plastic, with an unpleasantly bitter aftertaste.

So now I'm back to square one: apparently I only like papaya when my dear friend Stella serves it to me. Or maybe I just like a certain kind. Based on these descriptions, can anyone better trained in this fruit than I diagnose my problem--are the varieties that different? Or is it just an acquired taste I'm never going to acquire?

Hello Jenise,

Papaya is the least favourite of my fruits also - it seemed texturally unpleasant and, like you said, has a funny plastic-like aroma to it. But while in Tanzania last winter I tried some papayas there that I liked and I came up with a hypothesis: I think (but am not sure) that I just don't like them as ripe as other people. When slightly unripe they seemed to lack the unpleasant aromas and have more acidity hence making the texture neutral rather than unlikeable. I didn't try enough of them to see if my hypothesis holds. I suppose there very well could be different strains of Papaya which might also account for the differences we've both noticed. I'm curious to hear this also if anyone knows.

-O-

[Robin Garr]

For years I've been able to refer to papaya as the only fruit I didn't like. ... is it just an acquired taste I'm never going to acquire?

Slightly off point, but we never ate papaya until we went to Costa Rica in 1990, where it was almost invariably served with breakfast. I thought it was just fine, and likened it to ripe cantaloupe. My long-suffering bride just hated it, finding in it an aroma that she considered disgusting and likened to, well, v*mit.

Accordingly, when we got home from Costa Rica, we continued our policy of not having it at home.

But in talks with other people, Mary has discovered that the whole world seems to be divided into two classes of people: Those who pick up a disgusting aroma in papaya, and those who don't get it at all. I think it may be one of those weird genetic things that's either on or off, like the ability to detect asparagus in one's urine.

I would agree with this, Robin. But instead of likening it to the asparagus issue, I think it is akin to the cilantro/soap weed divide.

[Robin Garr]

asparagus issue

Interesting choice of words ...

Count me in--I despise the fruit.

My wife, however, loves it.

[Jenise]

Wow, I have all this company and I never knew it. It's not just me, papaya's weird!

Wow, I have all this company and I never knew it. It's not just me, papaya's weird!

Jenise,

There used to be a papaya joint on 86th Street and York Avenue, in Manhattan's old Germantown section.

In the 1960s the place had people lined up on the sidewalk for papaya juice. Of course, I had to try it. Almost asked for my money back. It tasted to me like what I imagine orange juice would taste like without the citric acid and with some liquified Styrofoam thrown in.

We both love papayas: small, medium, large, et al; so long as they're ripe!

[Jenise]

Carl, and how do you know when they're actually ripe? And what's the difference in taste?

Don't buy them when they are green, but showing some color such as yellow, orange, or orange/red. Bring them home and let them set for a week unrefrigerated or until they get a little soft. Then put in fridge overnight. Then scoop out the seeds, cut them out of the shell and into small pieces and sprinkle with a little lemon juice. They are then sweet and delicious.

Or you can bypass the whole procedure and go to fellating a lemon

I have also noticed a wide variance in papaya quality.

When we used to have a place in Hawaii, we had papayas growing there (messy plants!) and would go out in the morning and give the tree a little shake and catch what fell off - good definition of ripe.

Grab a lime off the lime bush and there was breakfast. But I agree, many store bought papayas have failed to measure up.

One thing you can do with papaya that other fruit can't do for you. If you have a particularly tough piece of meat, slap some papaya on it before you cook it - the papain enzyme will tenderise it.