Several of you guessed papaya for my What Is It Wednesday last week and you were correct.
It was a Maradol Papaya to be exact, which is larger in size than many varieties of papaya, but one comment stated what it was exactly.
Dineen said, “A papaya past it’s prime, certainly very ripe.”
I could not have said it better Dineen.
Although, I did not mean to buy an over ripe papaya. I bought this at our local grocery store and they all looked like that, so I thought it was supposed to look like that. I have had papaya before, but I had never bought one myself. And now that I know what an over ripe one looks like, I will be more careful in the future.
I am not sure I can give a good review of this, because it was way over ripe and tasted really bad. I am guessing Maradol Papayas are not supposed to taste like this one did.
The smell, the taste, all of it was pretty bad. My husband even threw most of it out and he does not usually do that. He likes most things, or likes them enough to finish them off and not waste them, but he agreed this one belonged in the trash it was so bad.
I have not given up on papayas and I look forward to trying one again soon.
I would love to hear some papaya buying tips if you have any? What should a good papaya look like?
And I am curious if any of you have had Maradol Papaya?
Appropriately-ripe papayas taste awful to me… 🙂
I must not like papaya either. To me, papaya smells and tastes like vomit. I’ve tried it several times over the years, and the same thing. Vomit. 🙁 Now, mangoes, that’s a different story. I think I could eat those every day of the week and twice on Sunday and not get enough! Mmmmm.
That looks like the Papaya we buy-I usually buy it when it’s quite green still, then you can watch for when it starts to ripen. As it ripens it starts to look streaky yellow/green and it softens slightly. Don’t push too hard or else you’ll bruise it! I usually cut it up when it still has some green (but isn’t entirely yellow). It does taste really yuck when over ripe-it’s texture changes completely-and it gets a lot mushier. When ripe, a little lemon juice squeezed over it and a sweetner of sorts makes for a delicious breakfast/lunch/desert meal! Or just eat it plain-yum! I can eat a whole one for breakfast and its a really good source of fibre!
I think there is a learning curve when buying and preparing fruits/vegetables that are unfamiliar. The leaves of tomato plants are poisonous (to humans) and earlier in history, the tomato fruit was considered poisonous as well. In 2011, who could imagine life without tomatoes? That being said, your experience with the papaya reminds me of when I lived in NYC and started buying things like avocados and mangos. When they are perfectly ripe, these items are delicious, but choose badly and they are awful. I know papaya can taste good, but I never ventured to try and buy it myself. I believe that a good papaya (not overly ripe) will be orange -reddish flesh, looking like cantaloupe; but more easily mashable. I really don’t have experience with preparing it, but this is what I believe based on photos of other people working with it. Unfortunately, grocery stores are going to sell bad produce along with the good, so it’s up to us to know the difference!
No matter what state the papaya is in, it tastes HORRIBLE! I totally agree w/ Dawn, who says it smells and tastes like vomit!!! AMEN! I could not get away from that taste/smell, even if made in shakes, etc. I have a very broad taste-bud and like/love most foods, but….papaya is one of the only things that I can’t stand! (I do like dried papaya, tho.)
The country papaya is from is important. Mexican are the largest producers and eaters of maradol papaya. They prefer a papaya with a musky smell and taste. Papayas from Belize are not Maradol but the larger kind with a much sweeter taste and smell. I suggest if you’ve tried papaya in the past and didn’t like the smell or taste, try a papaya from Belize like the Caribbean Red papaya. They’ve a much sweeter taste and smell.
OBTW, papayas can be eaten starting at 50% color when they give a little when squeezed.