Pondering pawpaws’ prominence

If you’re one of those who forage for indigenous foods, then you’re probably already preparing to celebrate Thursday’s national observance of the largest edible fruit native to the United States.

And with Saturday being the first day of autumn — and the connotation it evokes for harvesting — you really don’t need an excuse to go out into the forest in pursuit of this culinary happiness.

Pawpaw season is upon us. It’s not about your grandfather or even the region along the Arkansas River in Sequoyah County known as Paw Paw Bottoms, but the obscure — if not forgotten — fruit few west of the Oklahoma-Arkansas line may have encountered.

This great American fruit is often described as a creamy mangobanana — and, sometimes, pine- apple — delicacy that is widely mistaken for a papaya or a mango.

But despite their tropical taste and appearance, pawpaws grow native in much of the eastern U.S. and as far west as the edges of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. The expansive growing range for pawpaws includes most of Arkansas and Missouri, and into northeast and southeast Oklahoma.

While many people have never tasted the sweet, custard-like fruit, National Pawpaw Day on the third Thursday of September sets out to change that. This seasonal fruit enjoys a peak harvest time from late August through the first frost. And while locally you may have to depend on finding them at a farmers market, because they’re almost impossible to find in grocery stores because of their extremely short shelf life, nearby habitats — especially in northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas — may give you the opportunity to find, harvest and taste your first pawpaw.

If you must resort to finding pawpaws in the wild, look for the short, deciduous trees alongside creeks in dappled shade. According to the Oklahoma Forestry Services, ripened fruit will fall of easily. You’ll want to eat them soon after harvest — either right off the tree or utilizing several easy recipes — and then plant the seeds to propagate the species.

With the tropical-taste fruit being a delicacy across Appalachia and the eastern seaboard, it’s not surprising pawpaws have been given such regional names as Kentucky Banana and Hillbilly Mango.

While you may not have heard of pawpaws, much less eaten one, those who have say they’re delicious with a taste uniquely their own. When allowed to ripen completely, pawpaws develop complex nuances of flavor with notes of tropical fruit, vanilla, cloves and other exotic spices.

Pawpaws don’t have a very long shelf life (usually not much more than a week, even when refrigerated). Their ripening period can be extended by refrigerating them, but to ripen pawpaws to perfection, remove them from the fridge a few days before you plan to eat them. Allow the pawpaws to ripen at room temperature until their skin begins to darken and the fruit becomes quite soft. As they approach their peak of flavor, the entire house will fill with their hauntingly spicy aroma.

There are several easy recipes using pawpaws, most of them as a dessert or parfait-type creation. In addition, anything you make with other fruits you can make with pawpaws. For example, add pawpaws to your baking or in salads. You can also make jams and jellies. Wanna be adventurous? How does pawpaw ice cream sound?

So if you’re looking for chicken fried pawpaws or something more along those lines, you’re probably going to go hungry.

What’s more, pawpaws are good for you. Some jokingly refer to pawpaws as “Vitamin P,” but their nutritional value is a fact. Higher in protein than most other fruits, pawpaws are also packed with antioxidants, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. What’s more, pawpaws are naturally gluten free and non-GMO.

It’s hard to believe that pawpaws were nearly completely forgotten for several generations. Growing across a huge swath of what is now the eastern United States, pawpaws were once a critically important source of food for both Native Americans and early European settlers. Before Johnny Appleseed brought the apple, there was the pawpaw – delicious, nutritious and free for the taking.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are both said to have cultivated pawpaws. It’s also been recorded that Lewis and Clark’s famous expedition of the West relied on pawpaws for sustenance when other sources of food failed. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that the course of American history might have gone very differently if not for the pawpaw.