Papaya (pawpaw) power - plus a recipe

B.M. Allsopp
Apr 12
4 min read

Updated: Apr 17

Papaya for breakfast

cross-section of orange papaya fruit — Cross-section of a papaya (just scrape the seeds out for the perfect breakfast): Wikimedia

I can't remember tasting papaya before I travelled to Papua New Guinea to teach at the age of 21. Accommodated by the Department of Education for my first nights at a Port Moresby hotel, I encountered this scrumptious fruit at the buffet table, where large slices of orange papaya (known as pawpaw in Australia) garnished with lemon wedges attracted my hungry eye. At my first breakfast I was a convert.

For the next ten years, I ate papaya sprinkled with lemon for breakfast most days. When I married another papaya-lover and became a mother, I found babies relish the fruit just as much as their parents. I even accidentally created the ideal baby food when I tried blending egg yolk with papaya to save time. The resultant sloppy mush set in a few moments to a gel which was so much easier to spoon into an eager mouth. Both my PNG-born babies couldn't get enough of this dish! I have no idea if baby health experts would approve my recipe today, so I'd better advise you not to try it at home.

We didn't keep up our breakfast papaya when we settled in Sydney, where the fruit was expensive, either hard or mushy and a disappointing flavour. I'd taken for granted the luxury of fruit from my own trees or my local market - a luxury I joyfully returned to when I took up a job in Fiji twenty years later.

Papaya - origin and spread

Botanical illustration of papaya tree and fruit — Papaya Plant and fruit, from Koehler's *Medicinal-Plants* (1887): Wikimedia

Also known in some regions as papaw, pawpaw or tree-melon, the species Carica papaya is native to Mexico, and Central America where it was first domesticated. Spaniards introduced papaya to the Philippines and Malacca (East Indies) in the 16th century.

However, it may not have been until the early 18th century that the papaya reached the Pacific islands, whose inhabitants have long regarded it as a native fruit tree. Today, the papaya flourishes throughout the world's tropical regions, where it is prized for ease of cultivation, large, delicious fruit and culinary and medicinal uses.

In 2024, world production of papaya was 15 million tonnes, led by India with 36% of the total, with Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico also major producers. The United States is the largest importer of papayas worldwide. Two commercial cultivars dominate the market: yellow and red, named for the colour of the flesh of the fruit. (To me, the red has the edge for flavour.)

Papaya - biology

The term 'papaya' refers to both the tree and the fruit of the species Carica papaya. The papaya has both male and female plants, with large fruit (15 - 45cm long) growing directly from the trunk of the female tree. Trees with both male and female flowers also occur naturally and it is from these hermaphrodites that commercial varieties have been developed. By the way, Fijians cut or drive a nail into a male tree's trunk in order to change the sex of the tree and produce fruit (reported by Paddy Ryan in Fiji's Natural Heritage).

Papaya as medicine

Packed as the fruit is with vitamins C, A, folate and anti-oxidants like lycopene, eating papaya for breakfast does you good even before you leave the house in the morning. But there's more!

All parts of the Carica papaya plant contain the enzymes papain and chymopapain (Note 1), which have drawn the attention of medical researchers in recent decades. These enzymes, found concentrated in the papaya's latex, leaves, and unripe fruit, have been demonstrated to accelerate wound healing, remove necrotic tissue, treat skin ulcers, and reduce inflammation. Internal uses also supported by evidence include improving digestion and increasing platelet counts in dengue fever patients.

So far, science is confirming what growers of papaya have discovered through observation, that papaya is indeed a potent plant. For example, in Australia, Dr T.P. Lucas in tropical Queensland invented a papaya-based ointment more than a century ago, Today, Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment (Note 2) is a well accepted patent treatment for minor skin injuries, insect stings, and burns, and stocked by all pharmacies.

Note 1: The papaya enzymes can also produce an allergic reaction in some individuals.

Note 2: I have no connection whatsoever to Lucas' Pawpaw Remedies.

Bonus Recipe: Green papaya salad

A Fijian friend gave me this recipe, but you'll find countless versions in Asia. Any version is unbeatable in the tropics where its sweet-and-sour crispness always perks you up and it's perfect anywhere as a zingy counter to richer dishes. You can substitute anything except unripe papaya, hard enough to grate with a potato peeler or mandolin. Add anything crisp you like, such as grated red onion, grated carrot or cucumber.

Ingredients

1 long red chili, finely sliced (use more if you like it hot, use capsicum if you don't
a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes
6-8 long green beans, cut into bite-sized lengths
2 cups shredded green papaya
juice of 2 small limes
1 clove garlic (or more)
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
dash of soy sauce
1 dessertspoon palm sugar or brown sugar
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method

Note: If you don't have a mortar and pestle, pound the ingredients with a rolling pin.

Pound the red chilies and garlic in a mortar until roughly crushed.
Add the roasted peanuts and pound lightly until just cracked.
Add the long beans, tomatoes, palm sugar or brown sugar, fish and soy sauces and juice.
Toss and pound gently until combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired.
Add the grated green papaya, Pound lightly and mix well.
Mix in chopped fresh coriander leaves.
Garnish with coriander and extra peanuts.