What is a pawpaw?
A pawpaw is the largest edible fruit native to North America, a green, mango-shaped fruit with soft custard flesh that tastes like a cross between banana and mango. It grows on a small understory tree, Asimina triloba, across the eastern United States, and it is almost never sold in stores because it ripens fast and does not ship well. That rarity is exactly why people go looking for it.
The fruit
Pawpaws are oblong, roughly the size and shape of a small mango or a large potato, with smooth green skin that yellows and speckles as it ripens. Inside is a pale, pudding-soft flesh studded with two rows of large brown seeds. They grow in clusters on the tree and drop when ripe. A pawpaw is a fruit you eat with a spoon, not one you bite like an apple.
Despite the tropical flavor, the plant is fully cold-hardy. It belongs to the custard-apple family, alongside tropical cousins like cherimoya and soursop, but it is the one member that ranges far north, which is how a fruit that tastes like the tropics ends up growing wild in Ohio and Ontario.
What does a pawpaw taste like?
The usual description is banana meets mango, with a note of vanilla, melon, or pineapple depending on the fruit, all in a texture closer to custard or ripe avocado than to a firm fruit. Flavor depends on the variety and on ripeness. Picked or eaten too early it can be starchy or faintly bitter; dead ripe it is rich, sweet, and aromatic. Some named varieties are prized specifically for cleaner, sweeter, less resinous flavor, which is a large part of why growers bother with selected cultivars instead of wild seedlings. For the full picture, including how flavor varies by variety and what growers say, see what a pawpaw tastes like.
How to eat a pawpaw
The single most important step is to let it ripen. A pawpaw is ready when it gives to a gentle squeeze, like a ripe peach or avocado, and often when it has started to speckle or has already dropped from the tree. Firm pawpaws are not ready and will disappoint.
- Cut the ripe fruit in half lengthwise.
- Scoop the soft flesh with a spoon, working around the large seeds.
- Eat the flesh only. Do not eat the skin or the seeds.
- Eat it fresh and cold, or puree the pulp for ice cream, custard, quick bread, or smoothies.
Ripe pawpaws keep only a few days at room temperature and up to about a week refrigerated, so plan to eat or freeze the pulp quickly. The pulp freezes well, which is how most people stretch a short season into the rest of the year.
Pawpaw vs papaya
They are not the same fruit, and the shared nickname is the whole source of the mix-up. The North American pawpaw is Asimina triloba, a temperate, cold-hardy tree in the custard-apple family. A papaya is Carica papaya, an unrelated tropical plant from a different family, with orange flesh and small black seeds. In parts of the world "pawpaw" is used casually to mean papaya, but if you are in the United States reading about a fruit that grows wild in the woods, that is the true pawpaw, not a papaya. See the full side-by-side on pawpaw vs papaya.
Where to find one
Because pawpaws bruise easily and ripen within days, they almost never appear in grocery stores. You find them at farmers markets, u-pick orchards, and farm stands during the season, which runs roughly from late August into October depending on where you are. Our directory lists verified places by state, and the season tracker shows when they ripen in your region. If you would rather grow your own, start with the pawpaw tree.
Common questions
What does a pawpaw taste like?
Most people land on a blend of banana and mango with a note of vanilla or melon, carried by a soft, custard-like flesh. The texture is closer to a ripe avocado or a custard than to a crisp fruit. Flavor varies by variety and ripeness; some fruit leans tropical and sweet, some is more resinous.
How do you eat a pawpaw?
Wait until it is soft to a gentle squeeze, like a ripe peach or avocado. Cut it in half, scoop the custard flesh with a spoon, and eat around the rows of large brown seeds. Do not eat the skin or the seeds. Ripe pawpaw is best fresh and cold, or pureed into ice cream, custard, or bread.
Can you eat pawpaw skin and seeds?
No. Eat only the flesh. The skin and the seeds are not eaten, and the seeds in particular contain compounds you should not chew or swallow. Some people also find the skin upsets their stomach, so scoop the flesh and discard the rest.
Is a pawpaw the same as a papaya?
No, and the names cause endless confusion. A pawpaw is Asimina triloba, a temperate tree of the custard-apple family native to North America. A papaya is Carica papaya, an unrelated tropical plant. In some countries papaya is casually called "pawpaw," but the North American pawpaw is a different fruit entirely.
Where can I buy or find pawpaws?
Fresh pawpaws rarely reach supermarkets because they bruise easily and last only a few days ripe, so they are mostly sold at farmers markets, u-pick orchards, and farm stands in season, roughly late August through October. Our directory by state lists verified places to find them near you.
Keep going
- The pawpaw tree: how big, how fast, how to grow one
- Are pawpaws safe to eat? Nutrition and the seeds and skin
- Harvesting pawpaws: when to pick and how to store them
- When are pawpaws ripe?
- Find pawpaws near you
Background grounded in the Kentucky State University Pawpaw Program. Flavor is subjective and varies by fruit and ripeness.
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