Papa, what’s a PawPaw fruit?

What is a PawPaw? Asimina triloba, the American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, among many regional names, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and Canada, producing a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit

Recently my Cousin-in-law Woodrow invited me to a FB group “True Appalachia hills people and places!“* he knows I love History, especially the why we do it this way theory, and how was it done in the “old days” and a focus on food culture, Natural medicine, and folklore. Well, a post about a plant that I desire to grow here at the Swash Manor is Paw Paw, it’s a fruit that in some ways is like papaya, in more ways it is not!. I posted a recipe from the group, to “Pawpaw Fanatics“* another group I belong to, and someone pointed out that cooked PawPaw was known to upset some peoples GI, “causes tummy issues” . So I had a look into the compounds that could cause this. My first guess is going to be the Phytochemicals, Phytochemical extracts of the leaves and fruit contain acetogenins, including the neurotoxin annonacin. The seeds and bark contain the chemical asimitrin.

While many people enjoy the taste of pawpaw, some individuals become sick after eating the fruit. Skin rash, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea can develop. In other cases, individuals may be allergic to the leaves or the fruit skin (Peterson, 1991).Sep 17, 2015 https://permies.com/t/50190/Intolerance-Pawpaw-Fruit

The PawPaw fruit may help metabolize other food you eat and is rich in riboflavin, thiamine, B-6, niacin, and folate. It is also rich in Vitamin C and other antioxidants. Vitamin C keeps your immune system in tip-top shape while helping the body absorb other nutrients such as iron and calcium. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/pawpaw/pawpaw-fruit-uses.htm#

fermented Pawpaw has an enzyme called papain. This fantastic fruit not only can help with digestion, help to reduce inflammation and pain in the body but can even treat a sore throat. Used in skin care products, the pawpaw’s many benefits will do wonders for your skin. The enzyme, papain, is a gentle exfoliant. https://samsonandcharlie.com.au/

Unripe pawpaw has a high acidity which helps remove the bacteria that could cause urinary tract infections from the urinary system. https://guardian.ng/life/the-unripe-pawpaw-has-hidden-gems-for-you/

I posted links to all these sites about PawPaw, Recipes, and even some youtube video from Maryland news about them growing there.

EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE.

May be an image of food and indoor
FaceBook Group True Appalachia hills people and places!

What is a PawPaw? Asimina triloba, the American papaw, pawpaw, paw paw, or paw-paw, among many regional names, is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and Canada, producing a large, yellowish-green to brown fruit. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Asimina triloba
Higher classification: Pawpaws
Height: 15-20′ tall missouribotanicalgarden.org
Family: Annonaceae
Order: Magnoliales
Rank: Species
Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal: Asimina triloba; (L.) Dunal

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2011/09/29/140894570/the-pawpaw-foraging-for-americas-forgotten-fruit
A traditional American folk song portrays wild harvesting of pawpaws; Arty Schronce of the Georgia Department of Agriculture gives these lyrics

Where, oh where is dear little Nellie?
Where, oh where is dear little Nellie?
Where, oh where is dear little Nellie?
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch

Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket
Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket
Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket
Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch

He notes that "picking up pawpaws" refers to gathering the ripe, fallen fruit from beneath the trees, and that the "pocket" in the song is that of an apron or similar tie-on pocket, not a modern pants or blue-jeans pocket, into which pawpaws would hardly fit.[21] A "pawpaw patch" refers to the plant's characteristic patch-forming clonal growth habit.

*My first guess is going to be the Phytochemicals, Phytochemical extracts of the leaves and fruit contain acetogenins, including the neurotoxin annonacin. The seeds and bark contain the chemical asimitrin

and other acetogenins, including asimin, asiminacin and asiminecin.[

Acetogenins have been investigated for their biological properties, but are a concern due to neurotoxicity. Purified acetogenins and crude extracts of the common North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba) or the soursop (Annona muricata) remain under laboratory studies.

Annonacin is a chemical compound with toxic effects, especially in the nervous system, found in some fruits such as the paw paw, custard apples, soursop, and others from the family Annonaceae. It is a member of the class of compounds known as acetogenins. Annonacin-containing fruit products are regularly consumed throughout the West Indies for their traditional medicine uses.

https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ksu-pawpaw/cooking.html EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE.
https://www.southernliving.com/garden/trees/paw-paw-tree
https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw.htm EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE.
Pawpaws: America’s Best Secret Fruit https://www.seriouseats.com/what-are-pawpaws-wild-fruit-midwest-how-to-prep-and-eat-pawpaws
https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-pawpaw-and-how-do-you-use-it-4774815

EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE.

What Is a Pawpaw, and Why Is It So Magical? https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/pawpaw-fruit-history-facts

? https://www.foodandwine.com/lifestyle/pawpaw-fruit-history-facts
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/19/dining/how-to-grow-pawpaw.html
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/what-in-the-world-is-pawpaw/

EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba#Uses

EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE.

It can be made into Liquor, brandy, etc...

https://www.wildsidewinery.com/

EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE.

https://www.totalwine.com/spirits/white-whiskeymoonshine/appalachian-moonshine-paw-paw/p/172154750
https://jepthacreed.distilleryspirits.com

EACH PHOTO IS A LINK TO THAT PAGE OR ARTICLE. https://therevivalist.info/pawpaw-whiskey-sour/

https://therevivalist.info/a-pawpaw-confession/

Youtube videosWhat Is A Pawpaw? What You Need To Know About The Fruit That Thrives In Maryland https://youtu.be/oHnZzLhccRc

Paw Paw Tree – Asimina triloba – How to eat a Paw-Paw and harvest seeds https://youtu.be/W8y9tUzrNKU

  • True Appalachia hills people and places! https://www.facebook.com/groups/571853253210591/
  • Pawpaw Fanatics https://www.facebook.com/groups/927257504078942/
  • Cooking with Pawpaws https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ksu-pawpaw/cooking.html
  • The Pawpaw: Foraging For America’s Forgotten Fruit https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2011/09/29/140894570/the-pawpaw-foraging-for-americas-forgotten-fruit
  • Chemical, sensory and shelf life study of pawpaw juice–milk blend https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311932.2016.1271276
  • Volatile sulfur compounds in tropical fruits https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1021949818300437
  • STUDIES ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, FUNCTIONAL AND ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF Carica papaya (PAWPAW) SEED FLOUR, PROTEIN CONCENTRATE AND PROTEIN ISOLATE https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316283892_STUDIES_ON_THE_CHEMICAL_COMPOSITION_FUNCTIONAL_AND_ANTIOXIDANT_PROPERTIES_OF_Carica_papaya_PAWPAW_SEED_FLOUR_PROTEIN_CONCENTRATE_AND_PROTEIN_ISOLATE
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba
  • Asimitrin and 4-hydroxytrilobin, new bioactive annonaceous acetogenins from the seeds of Asimina triloba possessing a bis-tetrahydrofuran ring https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/np040184l
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annonacin
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetogenin
  • https://www.nps.gov/articles/pawpaw.htm
  • https://www.southernliving.com/garden/trees/paw-paw-tree
  • https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-pawpaw-and-how-do-you-use-it-4774815