Preserving the Pawpaw Fruit

The Pawpaw fruit is a highly perishable fruit native to North America.  It can be found up and down the East coast and as far west as Nebraska!  Once on the ground, the fruit only lasts a day or two. However there is a simple method for preserving the Pawpaw fruit to have access to it throughout the winter months. Today we will talk about preserving the Pawpaw Fruit, but before we get started, a little history. 

What is the Pawpaw

Last fall we discovered a small Pawpaw grove just inside the wood line at our home. Once we figured out what it was and how delicious the fruit is, we have been waiting for this fall to come around so we can harvest the fruit again! 

The Pawpaw, while seemingly exotic with its banana citrus flavor and mango reminiscent look, is actually native to North America! The fruit grows in twenty-six of our states and has been for centuries. Pretty cool!

The pawpaw tree doesn’t start to produce fruit until around its fifth or sixth year. The trees have a smooth bark with broad dark green leaves. To me, they kind of look like banana leaves. Once you have the identity of the tree down, I recommend looking around your property as you may find even more!  We found another two groves on different parts of our property that are in various stages of maturity.  The trees love to grow under the protection of larger trees close to the outside edge of a wood line. 

Uses for Pawpaw Fruit

Most will say the fruit is best enjoyed right there in the woods, and while that may be true, if you are lucky enough to find a grove you may have more fruit than you want to enjoy in one sitting. So what do you do with all that extra fruit?  

Luckily, while the fresh fruit only last about two to three days once picked, it has a plethora of uses!  

Much like bananas, the pawpaw fruit stands up well to baking.  Just about any recipe you use bananas in, you can substitute the pawpaw fruit!  One of our favorites is Pawpaw Bread, but you can also make cookies, cakes, sorbets and ice creams; any number of baked goods! Pawpaw butter, similar to apple butter can also be made.

But what if your grove was a super producer this year? Or maybe you don’t have the time to spend the whole day baking away.  How do you preserve all of that delicious goodness before it goes bad?  Easy! Freeze it!

Preserving the Pawpaw Fruit

Pawpaws are easily preserved for use later on by freezing. 

To prepare the pawpaw, first ensure they are adequately ripe.  The pawpaw should feel squishy. If it is firm or barely soft, leave it to ripen on the tree.  If you were overzealous and picked it a little underripe (I did this a time or two), place it on the counter for a couple of days to ripen fully. Just watch out for fruit flies!

My friend Joanna swears by a little balsamic in a dish covered with plastic wrap.  Poke a few holes in it, and you have a fruit fly trap! 

Once the fruit is nice and ripe you will cut the fruit in half.  I prefer to cut the fruit crosswise as it misses the seeds the grow along the length of the fruit.  Once the fruit is cut in half, start at the top and gently massage the fruit into a clean bowl. 

Once the fruit is in the bowl, you will have to fish out the seeds.  The seeds of the pawpaw can be toxic to human if chewed so it is important to get all the seeds out before processing.  Avoid getting the skin of the fruit in the mixture as well, as it has been proven toxic also.

After you have removed the seeds, hold onto them in a separate bowl. We will talk about what to do with those beauties in a minute. 

Place the pulp of the fruit into a blender adding in a teaspoon of lemon juice. Blend until smooth. Place the mixture into a freezer bag, removing as much of the air as possible. Freeze for up to a year and enjoy in your baked goods throughout the winter months!

Seed Saving 

If you have been lucky enough to find a small grove of trees, it is likely that a squirrel, bear, or deer has helped to deposit the seeds of these lovelies, but how can you help out?  Seed saving is the answer. 

Once the seeds are out of the fruit, clean off the residual pulp. Wrap the seeds in a damp paper towel and place in the fridge until spring.  When the ground starts to warm, plant the seeds on the wood line and watch them thrive.  Remember, you will not get a yield the first five years, but once you do, it is so worth the wait!

Safety When Foraging

Like any new introduction into a diet, there is always the possibility of adverse reactions. Pawpaws have been known to cause severe stomach cramps and nausea in some people. This is in no way meant to discourage our readers from trying this wonderful fruit or foraging for other delicious foods, merely a reminder that not all people can tolerate the same foods and easy should be approached with a level of caution.

We hope that you have found this post helpful in your search for preserving the deliciousness of the pawpaw fruit. You can check out more on our site under canning and preserving.  You can also keep up with the homestead by following us on Instagram and Facebook. 

Know someone that would love this post?  Share away using our social share buttons!

Have an idea for a post or want to work with us, reach out to us at [email protected]!

Spread the love