Papaya

Papaya has been grown in tropical regions of the world for as long as history has been recorded. Originally it may have come from southern Mexico and Central America.

Papaya is available all year round.

Jamaica

Costa Rica

Brazil

The papaya is a pear-shaped fruit with a bright golden-yellow skin.

The flesh is juicy and silky smooth, with a sweet-tart flavor. The very juicy flesh is deep yellow or orange to salmon-coloured and about 25 mm thick

The large center cavity is filled with shiny, gray seeds. Though the peppery seeds are edible, they're generally discarded.

Nutrient Value

Excellent source of vitamin A and C, and potassium. Papaya are high in ascorbic acid content (vitamin C) and the flesh is very high in Vitamin A. There are also small amounts of calcium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin present in papaya. It is low in calories and sodium and high in potassium.

It is a popular breakfast fruit in many countries.

Papaya is also used in salads, pies, sherbets, juices, and confections. The unripe fruit can be cooked like squash.

Contains a digestive enzyme that is used to tenderize meat. Papain is an enzyme extracted from the papaya skin and is primarily used in the meat industry as a tenderizer. The papaya (Carica papaya) fruit is very rich in papain. The greener the fruit the more active is the papain. This protein-digesting (proteolytic) enzyme is very abundant in green, unripe fruits. This unique quality of papaya makes it an excellent natural meat tenderizer. The unripe fruit contains a milky juice in which is present a protein-digesting enzyme known as papain, which greatly resembles the animal enzyme pepsin in its digestive action. This juice is used in the preparation of various remedies for indigestion and in the manufacture of meat tenderizers. Thai cuisine

Choose a papaya with a rich colored skin and that gives slightly to palm pressure. Slightly green papayas will ripen quickly at room temperature. Refrigerate completely ripe fruit and use as soon as possible. Chilling injury can occur at temperatures below 8�C.

Papayas are usually grown from seed. Their development is rapid, fruit being produced before the end of the first year. Under favourable conditions, a plant may live five years or more.

The fruit is commonly spherical to cylindrical in form, is 75 to 500 mm or even more in length, and sometimes weighs as much as 9 to 11.5 kg (20 to 25.5 pounds).