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Consider the Pawpaw

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Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#41

Post by jonah »

6177c40f wrote: post #9
Footkerchief wrote: post #5

Missing mention of pawpaw's annonacin content, which causes Parkinsonism. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22130466/ "Pawpaw fruit contains a high concentration of annonacin, which is toxic to cortical neurons." https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs... "Pawpaw fruit contains high concentrations of annonacin, which is toxic to nerve cells. In addition there have been case reports of possibly rela…

Probably not a huge issue as long as you only eat it every so often. But I wonder about the possibility of producing varieties of pawpaw (or soursop or other related Annonas) that don't produce annonacin. Probably could be done with genetic engineering, or much more slowly with selective breeding. Given that there are places where people consume Annonas very often, and that this may lead to alarmingly high rates of p…

I don't know about Parkinson's, but acetogenins[1] work by down regulating ATP production in mitochondria. This mechanism has been studied for potential applications from cancer treatment to pesticides.[2]

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetogenin

[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_L._McLaughlin &c.

Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#42

Post by wil421 »

lidavidm wrote: post #14
sjsanc wrote: post #13

In South Africa we refer to the papaya as pawpaw, I'm in England now, and here they just say papaya. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaya . This article mentions papaya as a separate fruit. Is there something missing?

Well, yes: pawpaw is a different fruit in the US Midwest, and that's what the article is about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba

They grow in the South and all the way to the Atlantic. Including small parts of the North Florida panhandle.

Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#44

Post by cooper_ganglia »

jonah wrote: post #36

If you're in a region where they grow - temperate but with sufficient overwinter chill - you could consider planting some. They're nice looking trees with large leaves, the fruit is tasty, zebra swallowtail butterfly caterpillars feed off of the leaves, and you're helping preserve an endemic American fruit tree. My Dad's little one-man nursery is a good source of trees. ;) https://www.blossomnursery.com/ (Some of you…

That website is probably older than I am. It’s beautiful! I wish more people had personal websites that looked fun and customized like that!

Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#46

Post by Asraelite »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #21
jmbwell wrote: post #4

Or the prickly pear If you prick a raw paw, next time beware! Don’t pick a prickly pear by the paw, when you pick a pear try to use the claw! But you don’t need to use the paw when you pick a pear of the big pawpaw Have I given you a clue?

Do paw-paw give bears/non-human mammals any health problems (see Parkinson's discussion elsewhere)? (I see down thread that the paw-paw of Disney's Jungle Book would not be the paw-paw discussed here, I think? Baloo was a Sloth Bear, I think and I don't think they have those in N. America??)

The Jungle Book is set in India, so you would expect it to be a papaya but that doesn't really make sense either. This page talks about it: http://expatpawpaw.blogspot.com/2016/02/that-song-about-pawp...

Honestly I'm kinda shocked that an article all about explaining what a pawpaw is didn't lead with the fact that the same word can refer to two completely different fruits.

Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#47

Post by pvaldes »

dvh wrote: post #23

When I've tried to search what does pawpaw tastes like the two most specific descriptions I could find was "mild pawpaw taste" and "not banana".

> When I've tried to search what does pawpaw tastes like the two most specific descriptions I could find was "mild pawpaw taste" and "not banana".

The taste is very variable in different cultivars of this fruit. Some wild are said to be awful, but in the edible ones there are basically two groups: "plain banana" and "complex tropical mix".

"not banana" means that the flavor is a mix of tropical fruits. More acidic and with complex overtones that can be described as pineapple, mango, or bubblegum

Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#48

Post by atebyagrue »

I've been harvesting these in the wild for years. They are pretty difficult to describe in flavor (banana/mango/tropical being a good approximation), as the flavor isn't consistent even between close patches. They have about a 3 week ripe window mid-to-end August (depending on the shade) in my area when they should be harvested. I typically just push on the slender tree & if any fall; they're ripe. It's best to harvest them, halve them, scoop them into a freezer bag, and use when desired. It's the only way I've found to be able to preserve them & the delicate flavor some of them tend to have.

Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#49

Post by modeless »

dvh wrote: post #23

When I've tried to search what does pawpaw tastes like the two most specific descriptions I could find was "mild pawpaw taste" and "not banana".

My favorite niche YouTube channel has an episode on pawpaws: https://youtu.be/zUy2O3qDT8I?si=HvvH2SZsDy4Yc88e

He describes it "like if you took soursop, mango, and banana and blended it into a smoothie". Maybe not helpful if you haven't had soursop.

Re: Consider the Pawpaw

#50

Post by margalabargala »

Footkerchief wrote: post #11
6177c40f wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably not a huge issue as long as you only eat it every so often. But I wonder about the possibility of producing varieties of pawpaw (or soursop or other related Annonas) that don't produce annonacin. Probably could be done with genetic engineering, or much more slowly with selective breeding. Given that there are places where people consume Annonas very often, and that this may lead to alarmingly high rates of p…

The evidence we have for safety of low-level consumption doesn't look great. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7691614/ "The paucity of adequate studies, particularly related to long‐term use of A. muricata supplements, currently does not allow the establishment of a safe intake level." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10092620/ "Cognitive performance assessed with the MDRS worsens above a cumu…

"one fruit every 5 days for 1 year" is far above what I would consider occasional consumption.

Pawpaws are not in season for very long, and do not keep well. Unless you are canning or otherwise preserving them, a dozen per year is probably a high estimate for people who live in areas where they grow.

Relatives such as the soursop are available year-round in tropical areas, but if you limit your intake to the pawpaw only, eating a handful when they are ripe each year probably won't hurt you.

I lived in Maryland near a forest with a large number of wild pawpaw trees that produced an enormous amount of fruit, and was very into foraging as a hobby, and I don't think I ever ate more than six or seven in a single season.

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