Mr. Caimito and I just attended the 2013 Pawpaw Field Day at KSU in Frankfort, Kentucky this past Thursday.
Up to this point in time, we'd never tasted a pawpaw, though we have located a patch of wild fruiting trees in our area. The remaining fruits weren't ripe as of about 10 days ago, so this trip to Kentucky was our only sure-fire chance to finally taste this temperate annonaceae family member. Unfortunately it was a 4 hour drive one way
I was expecting a small crowd, but there were probably 150 people there, apparently from as far away as California and Germany.
The event was held at a very nice facility off-campus, where they have 2 pawpaw research orchards. Members of the faculty gave PowerPoint presentations about growing the trees, tree diseases and pests, processing pawpaws and value-added products (pawpaw beer or wine, anyone?), and information on current cultivars as well as new selections under development at KSU. Some of the cultivars being developed purport to have flavors of coconut and creme brulee - sounds intriguing.
There was also a presentation about the wild popularity of pawpaw in Japan. It seems like a pretty big deal, at least in some regions.
The day concluded with a tour of the orchard, and we were allowed to take any fruit we found on the ground. Mr. Caimito and I gathered about 10 fruits and brought them back.
There was also a tasting/evaluation of some of the up and coming cultivars.
The orchard where we gathered the fruit consisted of Sunflower and Susquehanna varieties (technically the fruit was more than likely a cross of the 2). Many of the pawpaws we gathered were overripe, but I still thought they were good.
The very first bite reminded me immediately of a cherimoya (no surprise really). I would venture to say there was also a fair amount of jackfruit flavor. Overall the pawpaws seemed more complex than the cherimoyas I've had (imported I'm sure). Several different flavor notes were present to varying degrees, though none were overpowering - bubble gum, canistel, flan/creme brulee, and even one fruit had a hint of durian at the finish (maybe due to its overripeness). Though the pawpaw is sometimes called the "Indiana Banana," none of the ones we tasted had any banana flavor in my opinion. Nor was there any mango, melon, or coconut, which are flavors that are associated with pawpaw. Of course, there are several named varieties out there and we were only tasting a few.
The texture was excellent - fiberless and creamy - very smooth.
In the final analysis, I would consider myself a pawpaw fan. I probably had overly-high expectations because I've been waiting so long to taste the fruit, and I just wanted it to be awesome. I doubt I will have any pawpaw cravings like I do with durian, jackfruit, and others, but pawpaw still has a pretty amazing taste for a native, temperate fruit that I could easily grow in my backyard.
Here are some pictures from the event.
Auditorium
Pawpaw taste test
Trees in the orchard
Susquehannah fruit we brought home