Hacker News Reader

Comment by mattmaroon | Hacker News Reader

In ohio we have pawpaw festivals! Even most of the people where they grow have never heard of them, because they don’t transport well enough to be sold, but those who have can’t wait for the season. I didn’t know they could grow in full shade though.

View on HN

Pawpaws are in the family containing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annonacin though, so not exactly something one should consume in bulk.

Annonacin is found in the seeds but the fhe fruit is fine, IIRC. Also IIRC, regular consumption of paw paw with lime is linked to excellent improvements in liver function for extremely late-stage Hepatitis patients. Consider also Annonacin promotes selective cancer cell death via NKA-dependent and SERCA-dependent pathways: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6037677/

That's not quite right. Annonacin is found in the pulp:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01618...

Pawpaws are a North American Papaya, and are totally safe to eat. Just don't eat the incredibly hard huge seed (just the same as apples, duh), and you will avoid all possibility of harm.

> I didn’t know they could grow in full shade though.

A hike through the woods in southeastern Ohio will make this fact obvious. I miss the area and love coming across a stand of pawpaw in the understory. The leaves are so big. It feels like walking in the jungle. I miss the pawpaw festival in Albany, OH.

I hike down by hocking hills a decent amount and never saw one but I’ll be on the lookout now!

There seems to be a growing interest in pawpaws. Stories about them were featured on a lot of food podcasts this fall and seems like it’s the “it” uncommon food at the moment, or staged to be.

It will be interesting if anyone is able to bring them to market at scale, it seems like agriculture departments at several universities have programs to work on different varietals with better shelf-life and shipping characteristics.

Huh, but you already need to stop in West Virginia to pick up your moonshine, so grab some pawpaws too while you’re there.

In Indiana they seem to be making a comeback. I have seen them on specialty menus a few times, but I find them to be awful. I am not a picky eater, and have sampled some other things in this list like ramps, but I don't think I will eat a paw paw again. Maybe I haven't had them prepared properly, but they seem like a Depression food. My grandpa talks about eating them when he was little, and I have only seen them resurrected in niche settings.

I think you might have had some bad ones. It's quite possible- they bruise and start to go off if you so much as look at them funny.

Ideally, they have a mild, sweet flavor, and the name 'custard apple' is quite appropriate. They aren't durian- there shouldn't be any strong flavors or smells present that might be off-putting.

Probably out of his short ripe time.

They most often taste like some combo of berry/banana/papaya when ripe. Different trees give slightly different flavor profiles. They must be eaten when the skin is starting to turn black, as that is when they are ripe. Eating them green would be quite unpleasant, and they don't stay at the right stage for long, which is why you don't just see them in supermarkets. Source: grew up eating wild pawpaws.

Hmmm. Wonder if they'll grow in Colorado. I see they are hardy to zone 5.

We grew them in Kansas, so same latitude. While they grow in the understory, I suspect they would not like to grow under conifers.

Under conifer is dry shadow that is probably the most complicated place to grow anything.

Callicarpa americana can stand semi-shadow and the tiny berries are edible in jelly.

Asimina hates being too dry.

They like to be under the edge of decidious forest in a wet climate, near a stream bank if possible. That's their optimal wild growing position.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com