Have you ever seen a pawpaw? I picked up this little fruit from Lagier Ranch at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Tuesday. The fruit fits in the palm of my hand and is quite soft when it is ready to eat. It is known as the "poor man's banana" and can substituted for banana in recipes.
If you are serious about eating local, this fruit is a good one to know about as it satisfies the need for a tropical fruit, yet it can be found in California.
The fruit is custardy in texture and reminds me of a cross between a mild papaya, a banana and a mango.
A pawpaw is in the same family as a cherimoya fruit, and is native to woodlands in the native US. It is now grown in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest.
Cutting into the pawpaw, it's seeds are quite large with a beautiful woody exterior.
If you make it to a market in the Bay Area this weekend, keep an eye out for Lagier Ranch and their pawpaws. Lagier is at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturdays and the Marin Civic Center Farmer's Market on Sundays.
More about the Pawpaw fruit:
Wikipedia
California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc
Photo credit: Flourphoto
They are native to Appalachia--so, I probably should write about them.
There is a local guy who makes pawpaw products and sells them at the farmer's market here in Athens.
Oddly enough, when I was a kid, I never liked them! I will have to try them now that I am grown up and see what I think of them.
Posted by: Barbara | August 26, 2005 at 01:29 PM
Speaking of eating locally here is a link to a very interesting article about farmers doing just that!
www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4080&l=en
Posted by: shuna | August 26, 2005 at 02:08 PM
They are lovely with lime juice on...yum.
Posted by: Monkey Gland | August 26, 2005 at 04:27 PM
Pawpaws are pretty common in the UK - as Monkey Gland hints. Funny cos they certainly are not local there, I suspect. Funnier still - I have never actually noticed one herein SF. I will keep my eyes open at the market tomorrow,
sam
Posted by: Sam | August 26, 2005 at 07:14 PM
I've never even heard of a pawpaw - thanks for the education!
Posted by: Sweetnicks | August 27, 2005 at 07:17 PM
Now I finally know what a pawpaw is!
May I stop picking them up and putting them in a basket now? ;)
Posted by: mj | September 11, 2005 at 09:53 AM
Pawpaws have been growing wild in Indiana since forever. My grandpa used pick some from the woods and stock them up for my visits. I could down several pawpaws in a nanosecond (although nanoseconds weren't invented yet). A freshly baked persimmon pudding, a pot of hot sassafras tea and a ripe pawpaw will morph you into a hayseed almost instantaneously. Yeehaw.
Posted by: Indy Anna | November 12, 2008 at 01:03 PM