Encounter with Papaya

Papaya is native to the tropics of the Americas, and is limited to where it can grow, being frost-sensitive, but it seems to also be able to handle the slightly less favourable weather conditions of the subtropical regions of Spain, since I have noticed it growing in Seville just fine. Now this is a weird but true fact. 

Papaya tree with unripe fruit near my home

Papaya is a large tree-like plant, with a single stem up to 10 m tall, with spirally arranged large leaves confined to the top of the trunk. The leaves are of at least 50 cm in diameter, deeply palmately lobed into seven lobes. Papaya is one of the most productive plants regarding its size provided that it flowers and fruits at the same time.

Young Papaya plant in Seville. Image taken from a forum of InfoJardín

Papaya fruits are smooth skinned and have an oblong shape, they may be green, yellow, orange or pink, and weigh up to 9 kg. Export-destined fruit are harvested earlier, not weighing more than 600 g. It's ripe when if feels tender and soft to the touch and its skin has acquired an amber to orange shade. Ripe papaya fruit is usually eaten raw, without skin or seeds. The unripe green fruit can be eaten cooked, in curries, salads and stews, or it can be used to make jellies due to its pectine content.

Papaya with cream cheese. Image and recipe taken from ABCdesevilla

Here's a quick and easy papaya dessert recipe for you to try at home:

Papaya with cream cheese

Ingredients:

1-2 papayas (1 kg)

1 cup of sugar

ginger

cream cheese

2 cups of water

Preparation:

Peel the papaya and dice it small. Make a simple sypup with sugar and water, add ginger and papaya, and cook for a few minutes. Set aside and serve when cooled in glasses with a scoop of cream cheese. Instead of cream cheese, you can use finely grated parmesan or blue cheese cubes for an icying. Greek yogurt or sour cream would also be a good sub for cream cheese.