Hawaiian papayas >>>>>>>>> ALL other papayas

[savemejebus]

I have never had a papaya in Florida that didn't taste and smell like stinky ass. I had sworn off papaya and could not even see them without getting nauseated.

At the hotel here in the Big Island and they had Solo papaya cut up. When in Rome, right? Sweet and delicious... no musky smell/taste. Something I would actually eat/grow. Need to try the strawberry papaya now. heard that was also good.

[fruitlovers]

Another convert?  I don't know why, but people outside of Hawaii don't believe me when i tell them the papayas here are delicious and don't have any bad smell or taste. I guees eating is believing?

[savemejebus]

I'm a believer!

[RodneyS]

I have a sunrise papaya tree and quite enjoy the fruit.  My waimanalo died when they were small, before I could taste what that papaya was like

[fruitlovers]

Just in case you didn't know it, sunrise = strawberry papaya. Called that because of the reddish pulp color.
Waimanalo is just a dwarf solo. Very similar in taste to the sunset (yellow) solo.

[RodneyS]

Just in case you didn't know it, sunrise = strawberry papaya. Called that because of the reddish pulp color.
Waimanalo is just a dwarf solo. Very similar in taste to the sunset (yellow) solo.

Thanks for the clarification, Oscar. 

[VUgearhead]

I still remember the time I lived in San Antonio as a kid. My parents brought back a giant papaya from a trip over the border into Mexico. It was huge, the size of a large pumpkin. My mom cut into it, and OH!! the smell!

It smelled more like an equally sized dung pile than a fruit. I honestly couldn't tell you if the fruit tasted good, because the smell was so overwhelming!

If anyone knows a variety suited to Florida, that would not have a 'musky'(?) odor, please tell us!

[fruitlovers]

I still remember the time I lived in San Antonio as a kid. My parents brought back a giant papaya from a trip over the border into Mexico. It was huge, the size of a large pumpkin. My mom cut into it, and OH!! the smell!

It smelled more like an equally sized dung pile than a fruit. I honestly couldn't tell you if the fruit tasted good, because the smell was so overwhelming!

If anyone knows a variety suited to Florida, that would not have a 'musky'(?) odor, please tell us!

The Mexican papayas, actually the original papayas as that is where papayas originate, are also very bland.

[fyliu]

I'm not a papaya lover myself.
I thought "musky" was the characteristic papaya flavor. I've heard of people squeezing lime juice to "make it better". That sounds like they want to eat stink-less durian to me.

[HIfarm]

Hopefully, Mike T will chime in on this.  As I recall one of his descriptors he uses for flavor/aroma in some papaya is "puke"  -- yum.  Just call me biased but that is not a characteristic I am fond of.  (Not typically encountered in any of the main Hawaiian types, by the way.)

John

[fyliu]

More options is always good. I've heard friends and family say they prefer Hawaiian papayas. Maybe this is the reason.

[joehewitt]

I have to agree with the subject! The first papayas I ate were in Hawaii and I fell immediately in love with them. Each time I return to the islands my mouth is watering for papaya before the plane touches down. After I had gotten used to Hawaiian papayas I tried buying some in the grocery store back in California and was shocked at how nasty and cheesy they are. It's a shame so many people know only of these horrible papayas.

[Galka]

This one didn't smell like stinky ass.  It was sweet and soft like persimmon, yummy. 

[fruitlovers]

I'm not a papaya lover myself.
I thought "musky" was the characteristic papaya flavor. I've heard of people squeezing lime juice to "make it better". That sounds like they want to eat stink-less durian to me.

That stinky smell and bad taste was something specifically selected out when the solo papayas were developed. This was done at least 50 years ago? And people still haven't caught on?  I don't know anybody that doesn't like them here or that complains about their smell. Often they are just ignored just because they are so super common here. It's kind of like bananas, great fruit, but so many of them around people forget to appreciate them.

[HIfarm]

That stinky smell and bad taste was something specifically selected out when the solo papayas were developed. This was done at least 50 years ago? And people still haven't caught on?  I don't know anybody that doesn't like them here or that complains about their smell. Often they are just ignored just because they are so super common here. It's kind of like bananas, great fruit, but so many of them around people forget to appreciate them.

Regarding being common & unappreciated, I kind of think the worst period here is behind us -- I remember a few years ago, papaya going as low as 6 / $1; now I think ~2/$1 is more the going rate so I think the glut is subsiding.  Most of the fruit here is apparently from nice clones.  However, most vendors do not treat them well & you often end up with bruises turning to mush before the rest of the fruit is anywhere near ripe.  (I still see pick-ups with the bed filled with loose papaya and 2 or 3 guys laying on top of the load of fruit.  Nice way to treat your produce.)  That kind of experience has certainly decreased my enthusiasm for papaya so I tend to buy them a lot less often.

[fruitlovers]

That stinky smell and bad taste was something specifically selected out when the solo papayas were developed. This was done at least 50 years ago? And people still haven't caught on?  I don't know anybody that doesn't like them here or that complains about their smell. Often they are just ignored just because they are so super common here. It's kind of like bananas, great fruit, but so many of them around people forget to appreciate them.

Regarding being common & unappreciated, I kind of think the worst period here is behind us -- I remember a few years ago, papaya going as low as 6 / $1; now I think ~2/$1 is more the going rate so I think the glut is subsiding.  Most of the fruit here is apparently from nice clones.  However, most vendors do not treat them well & you often end up with bruises turning to mush before the rest of the fruit is anywhere near ripe.  (I still see pick-ups with the bed filled with loose papaya and 2 or 3 guys laying on top of the load of fruit.  Nice way to treat your produce.)  That kind of experience has certainly decreased my enthusiasm for papaya so I tend to buy them a lot less often.

Those 6 for $1 papayas were rejects from the irradiation plant in Keaau. They gave them away for free and people turned around and sold them. I guess they are not doing that any more?

[bsbullie]

This one didn't smell like stinky ass.  It was sweet and soft like persimmon, yummy. 

Soft like a ripe persimmon (astringent type)  If so, that is not a good thing for a papaya.

[roblack]

Have you tried Red Lady? It tastes pretty good, with no funky feet taste.

Used to swear that I didn't like papaya until a good one changed my mind. It was scary trying it, after having had bad ones, like the first time trying sushi.

[Galka]

Rob, no, not like astringent, like fuyu persimmon when it gets soft but not mooshy. I should probably say the texture was like a ripe melon, so it would more accurate. I'm bed in describing, but the persimmon was the first that came to my mind when I ate the papaya.

[BajaJohn]

There is an FDA salmonella alert for Mexican papayas right now.

I've grown a few Maradol from seeds and just eaten my first fruit. It's the first time I've been really impressed with a papaya. Much better than its store-bought parent. Not sure if straight from the tree had anything to do with it but it was sweet and delicious. I put some of the cut pieces in the refrigerator to keep and a day later the flavor is really disappointing.




Thanks to several TFF members for helping me get them through a bug attack earlier in the year.