I knew right away that I would be filing this under our "Fun-filled Friday" bannner. Finding pawpaws is a huge treat! They're surprisingly little-known, and also very surprisingly tropical in nature. Who would think that something this delicious and exotic-tasting would thrive in so much of the non-trpoical world!? In this video, you'll learn where to look for pawpaw groves, how to identify a pawpaw tree, and what pawpaws look and taste like.
We'd like to send out a huge thanks to our friends Melissa and Dave Sokulski of FoodUnderFoot.com, who happened across these pawpaw trees the other day and then invited us to join them last night to return to the location. Melissa actually found the trees by (quite unexpectedly) smelling them as she walked past them! If that's not a case of nature literally calling out for to us to enjoy its fresh, nutritious, plentiful bounty, then we don't know what is.
Thanks again also to the homeowner, Bob J. Builder, who graciously allowed us not only to film in his amazing pawpaw grove, but who also encouraged us to take home as much as we wanted (and we DID!). He only had a few mature trees, but the amount of fruit they produced was incredible. Even with all we took, we hardly dented the delicious crop. (We'll surely take you up on your offer for us to return, Bob!) Besides being very welcoming, Bob is a super guy with loads of entertaining stories to tell. We don't know him very well, but can tell he's the life of the party where ever he goes.
We also wanted to remark that this story illustrates in an interesting way the community and friendship-building aspect of healthy raw foods. Picture a group of strangers arriving on a doorstep to ask permission to film something in the guy's yard. From there, we spent a good half-hour simply hanging out and chatting with him. Everyone had a ton of fun doing so, and Bob was actually grateful that we stopped by because he hadn't known about pawpaws prior to our visit.
Anyone else have any pawpaw stories or knowledge to share Let us know in the comments!
Original Comments
Below, we have included the original comments from this blog post. Additional comments may be made via Facebook, below.
On September 25, 2009, wrote:
Amazing! That's the first time I've ever seen a pawpaw, or a pawpaw tree for that matter, thanks for sharing it through your video. I'll definitely have to search around in my area to see if I can find a tree somewhere.
On September 25, 2009, wrote:
We have them in MO too!
On September 25, 2009, wrote:
Wow that is so cool. I live in North Carolina and last year went to a native plant sale and purchased two baby paw paw trees and planted them in my property. I learned how over a hundred years ago they were everywhere in coastal NC, but because of logging and development, they are rare to find. I also learned they were an important crop for the local indians back then. I've never eaten one or seen a paw paw fruit so it was treat to watch your video. It actually resembles a sapote or cheramoya on the inside, which I've eaten and they are really sweet. I can't wait till mine grow up! Thanks for sharing!
On September 26, 2009, wrote:
Ha! So thats the tree that I smell when I run past my neighbours yard (here in Silver Spring MD) in the mornings at this time of year. I have wondered what it was for the past couple of years. It smells so sweet and when they fall and the insects eat them the whole area is rich and fruity smelling for a few weeks. I thought they were inedible ornamentals - well guess what - I'm off to harvest (with their permission) as many as I can today. They don't seem to eat them and I would love to know what a Paw Paw tastes like.
Thanks Jim
On September 27, 2009, wrote:
Hey, this is fabulous!!! I never knew anything about pawpaws and will now be on the lookout. Thanks for sharing such wonderful information. Congrats on the "find"!
On September 29, 2009, wrote:
My mom has trees in her yard in Brooklyn, NY. She planted them many years ago. She has too many of them, and doesn't know what to do with them all. No time to dry, etc.
On September 30, 2009, wrote:
Say, I live near Paw Paw Michigan! Do you think they named their city in honor of the Paw Paw tree? Worth a try to find out. Maybe Paw Paw Michigan is loaded with them! Hee! Hee! I'm off to Paw Paw!
On July 30, 2010, wrote:
I missed this one! I am happy to know that you found a worthy paw-paw tree ... psss, keep this tree to yourself :-)