Paw Paw

No, not the one married to Mama, the American fruit that we never hear about up here. Saw a segment on it on PBS News Hour and it sounded attractive, but I don't know that I've ever seen one up here in the Great White.

Any paw paw experts here? Are they good and worth tracking down?

I've been wanting to get some paw-paw jam. Never tried them, but they're supposed to be good.

Tried some when I lived in North Carolina. I can't be 100% sure, but they looked like pretty good specimens and they didn't taste all that exciting compared to other fruit options. But, who knows...

They grow wild around here and are often described as the only tropical fruit native to North America . The fruit is shaped and sized similarly to an Alphonso mango and tastes rather like an overripe banana. Suffice it to say that it won't supplant mango, papaya or guava chez nous.

They also grow in NY, and I have a friend who loves her paw paw tree. I think she mostly uses for ice cream. I think Mark's description is pretty accurate, and the banana edge to the flavor is definitely there. The texture is unusual, I've heard people describe as custardy.
If my friend Hilary gives me one I'll eat it, but wouldn't search out.

New to me; I've never encountered it.

I assumed this thread referred to papaya which often is called paw paw

Definitely not papaya!

https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-pawpaws-wild-fruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws

Definitely not papaya!

https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-pawpaws-wild-fruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws

I could tell from photo's of the inside of an American pawpaw that its seeds are quite different. The seeds inside reminded me of a custard apple, and scrolling down Wikipedia I see it's of the same family.

As the page you linked to says "That pawpaw means papaya in other parts of the world does not help any, either."

According to Wikipedia, the American fruit got given the name 'pawpaw' because it reminded early settlers of pawpaws aka papayas.