Pawpaw

Asimina triloba · Fruit

40 pairings

The pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is the largest edible fruit native to North America — a soft, green-skinned berry with custardy yellow flesh tasting of banana, mango and melon. The only temperate-zone member of the otherwise tropical custard-apple family (Annonaceae), it ripens to a fragrant, perishable pulp prized by foragers but almost never sold in supermarkets.

Picking a good onedrag

UnderripeOverripe

Just givingSweet and custardy, still firm enough to slice. Halve it, spoon the flesh off the skin and lift the big flat seeds out whole — skin and seeds are not eaten.Slice or spoon

The squeezeGives a little under steady thumb pressure, the crispness gone

SkinGreen to yellow-green, the first brown flecks showing

SmellBanana and melon, but only held close to the nose

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

Preparing