Author Topic: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.  (Read 9382 times)

murahilin

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3285
    • USA Greenacres, Florida Zone 10b
    • View Profile
Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« on: October 19, 2015, 10:39:00 PM »
http://www.freshplaza.com/article/135515/Aussies-not-keen-on-musky-aftertaste-of-common-papaya

I found this article while searching for information on non musky papayas and I figured i'd share it.

Waterfall

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
    • Australia, NSW, Sydney, Zone 10a
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2015, 11:03:14 PM »
I agree with this.

starling2

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 48
    • Straya
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2015, 11:12:34 PM »
Well, I really can't understand this at all--musky aftertaste? I can't say I've ever noticed something I'd describe that way. Some of the yellow types have a bit of a sick-like smell, but the pink and red fleshed types are just fantastic fruits all round. Easy to grow also. I consider them a must-have for any fruit grower.

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2015, 11:17:11 PM »
There are no surprises on that nicely textured reds are preferred and the nasturtium aftertaste is not liked. With so many varieties to choose from the subtropical growers seem to opt for highly productive yellows that are more cold tolerant. People are very choosy with papaya in my area and many people refuse all yellow fleshed varieties as the chance of a poor aftertaste is much higher with yellows.

starch

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 819
  • My brain is like oatmeal
    • Chandler, AZ. zone 9b
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2015, 01:14:30 AM »
I must be part-Australian, because I don't like common papayas either. Same flavor profile that makes me dislike cantaloupe and musk melons.

It's too bad, because there is something about papayas that I really do like. But after I convince myself to try another after a few years, I find that I both love and hate (the musky flavor) them all over again.

If you find some non-musky papayas that you think are worth trying, please post them! I would love to find some and try them too!
- Mark

stuartdaly88

  • Phytomaniac
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1186
  • Zone 9b/10a
    • South Africa, Gauteng
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2015, 03:27:20 AM »
Also even if you dont like the taste they are the most incredible meat tenderisers! An enzyme called papain breaks down meat and makes it very tender. I usual wrap steak in the peeled skins or strips of flesh for a few hours. It would probably also work to mash and add to marinades.
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau

gnappi

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1974
    • South East Florida (U.S.A) Zone 10A
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2015, 05:03:54 AM »
Maybe the "aftertaste" as described is off, I always considered it more of a vomit undertone in some.

I can get past it now that I've grown accustomed to it and some cultivars have none of that flavor.

Regards,

   Gary

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2015, 08:47:38 AM »
Maybe the "aftertaste" as described is off, I always considered it more of a vomit undertone in some.

I can get past it now that I've grown accustomed to it and some cultivars have none of that flavor.

Ah yes, I totally get the "vomit" description. I often call it "fishy" though that's not really accurate.
I am very put off by this papaya flavor tone. I have to believe that some papayas out there do not possess this characteristic, based on their popularity.
In Taipei I did sample some fresh papaya that had very little-to-no negative aftertaste.

horseshoe_bayou

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 69
  • as you sow, so shall you reap.
    • U.S.A, FL, west palm beach, 10b
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2015, 10:10:56 AM »
due to that slight vomit like smell on my papayas, I find myself using them mainly in milkshakes when ripe. But I have tried them green in salads and desserts so at least its versatile and easy for me to grow. going to try and pickle them next.  ;D
Mic

From the sea

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 690
    • Big Island Hawaii
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2015, 10:37:44 AM »
I grow them for my daughter she likes all types. I have fun trying to get one that works well in my yard and that is more red stemmed. The deer make it hard to grow them in my yard.

WaterFowler

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 216
    • Coachella Valley
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2015, 10:45:46 AM »
Maybe the "aftertaste" as described is off, I always considered it more of a vomit undertone in some.

I can get past it now that I've grown accustomed to it and some cultivars have none of that flavor.

I seem to get an almost "BO" like aftertaste out of the Mexican ones offered here. Not overwhelming, but definitely present. I'm not real picky, I'll eat just about anything, but there are so many other fruits to choose from that I could spend my money on.

I have a few TR Hoveys growing right now. If I can get them past the winter, maybe I'll change my opinion. Things I grow myself always seem to taste so much better.  ;)

Galka

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 671
    • USA, FL, OCALA, 9A
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #11 on: October 20, 2015, 10:57:36 AM »
WaterFowler Could you post a picture of your TR Hoveys, please?

WaterFowler

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 216
    • Coachella Valley
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2015, 11:37:33 AM »
Sure, I'll PM you tonight when I get home. They are in containers right now and only about 2-3 feet tall. It was a 100+ degrees up until a few days ago, so they were in the shade. They definitely do not like our intense heat, at least not when they are in containers. I'll put them in the ground this spring if they survive.

Galka

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 671
    • USA, FL, OCALA, 9A
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #13 on: October 20, 2015, 12:52:13 PM »
Thanks, WaterFowler. I have one in container too. I just want to see if the one I have looks like yours. I saw some in the nursery the other day and noticed a difference in appearance.

savemejebus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 631
    • Coral Springs, FL
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2015, 04:26:39 PM »
Perhaps a little crass, but to me papaya tastes Luke how I would imagine sweaty butt would taste. It definitely smells like it.

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2015, 07:04:59 PM »
No butts about it and it would have to be a pretty crook cultivar to have that aftertaste.

BMc

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1740
  • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #16 on: October 21, 2015, 01:23:42 AM »
Papaya is a strange fruit commercially. People don't and shouldn't pay a fairly high price for anything less than spectacular as papaya is basically a weed here. The big old feral ones are the vomit yellows, and they are considered bat or chicken food, so people don't grow or eat those types, unless they want green papaya. They certainly don't buy them. Very rarely will you see a non-red for sale in nurseries, and the same with the very few fruit you do see in fruit shops. Plenty of middling orange-fleshed types still have a hint of a fuel taste, or olfactory imprint, which people who like sweet fruit find unappealing.

venturabananas

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 215
    • USA, CA, Ventura, zone 10
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #17 on: October 21, 2015, 11:37:11 AM »
I have a few TR Hoveys growing right now. If I can get them past the winter, maybe I'll change my opinion. Things I grow myself always seem to taste so much better.  ;)

I'm not sure why TR Hovey got the hype it did.  Seems like it was all predicated on their dwarf size (but they will eventually get pretty big).  I grew a couple of them and their fruit were definitely well below average as papayas go: mediocre taste, and texture that was usually too firm.  I removed them both when the got about 8' tall and kept making mediocre fruit.  I hope you have better results.

Mike T

  • Zone 12a
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9012
  • Cairns,Nth Qld, Australia
    • Zone 12a
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #18 on: October 23, 2015, 02:48:12 AM »
Solos and other main bisex reds of the recent past have experienced price declines in the markets even though they are very nice and have no disagreeable aftertaste. New orange skinned types with slightly cleaner appearances that are  a little sweeter and have a bit more rose quality in the taste are stealing their thunder.I don't know their names but I got one today.




They are darn fine fruit and even papaya skeptics may be won over by these new age types.

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #19 on: October 23, 2015, 03:08:27 AM »
That off smell in papayas was bred out ages ago in all the Hawaiian solo papayas. I think the people complaining about the smell must be eating Mexican type papayas, which not only smell bad but are very bland tasting. Their only attraction is huge size. For a long time these giant Mexican papayas were the only papayas available in southern California. But now Hawaii exports to most of continental USA. The problem is only their price. About 5x what we pay for them here. Papayas are so common and cheap here that they have lost a lot of their appeal for that reason alone.
Oscar

greenman62

  • CharlesitaveNB
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1277
    • [url=https://vgruk.com/]vgr uk[/url]
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #20 on: October 23, 2015, 06:21:47 AM »
That off smell in papayas was bred out ages ago in all the Hawaiian solo papayas. I think the people complaining about the smell must be eating Mexican type papayas, which not only smell bad but are very bland tasting.

i dont find that really. I think the Mexican types have more flavor than the Hawaiians.
Although ive never had a solo home grown, ive had them from whole food and a couple of other supermarkets here
they seem  more bland to me than the Mexicans.

i think it really has a lot to do with weather, and how ripe the fruit is when it is picked.
Wall-Mart's papaya is always sold very green, hard as a rock.(i hate hard papaya)
1/2 the time it gets rotten before it gets ripe. But they are Mexicans, and when they are ripe they are really good.
I am in New Orleans, so we dont get a lot of fresh fruit here.

when i eat one from my tree, i let it ripen fully.
The flesh is softer and sweeter. The flavor seems to transform as well. it goes from what i describe as a petrol, or medicinal smell,
to a more fragrant, rosy aroma.
i am thinking the age of the tree also may have something to do with it.

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #21 on: October 23, 2015, 06:34:40 AM »
That off smell in papayas was bred out ages ago in all the Hawaiian solo papayas. I think the people complaining about the smell must be eating Mexican type papayas, which not only smell bad but are very bland tasting.

i dont find that really. I think the Mexican types have more flavor than the Hawaiians.
Although ive never had a solo home grown, ive had them from whole food and a couple of other supermarkets here
they seem  more bland to me than the Mexicans.

i think it really has a lot to do with weather, and how ripe the fruit is when it is picked.
Wall-Mart's papaya is always sold very green, hard as a rock.(i hate hard papaya)
1/2 the time it gets rotten before it gets ripe. But they are Mexicans, and when they are ripe they are really good.
I am in New Orleans, so we dont get a lot of fresh fruit here.

when i eat one from my tree, i let it ripen fully.
The flesh is softer and sweeter. The flavor seems to transform as well. it goes from what i describe as a petrol, or medicinal smell,
to a more fragrant, rosy aroma.
i am thinking the age of the tree also may have something to do with it.

Papayas that are picked with any yellow coloration at all on them will continue to ripen well. If a papaya is picked totally green then they will not ripen at all. The papayas picked for export from Hawaii are picked at the right stage. But improper storage temperatures or treatment during transport, storage, and ripening can easily ruin them.
I'm sure that Mexican papayas that are grown now are much better than the Mexican papayas that i tasted 30 years ago in San Diego...at least i hope so. That is what i was referring to.
Oscar

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #22 on: October 23, 2015, 06:36:46 AM »
That off smell in papayas was bred out ages ago in all the Hawaiian solo papayas. I think the people complaining about the smell must be eating Mexican type papayas, which not only smell bad but are very bland tasting.

i dont find that really. I think the Mexican types have more flavor than the Hawaiians.
Although ive never had a solo home grown, ive had them from whole food and a couple of other supermarkets here
they seem  more bland to me than the Mexicans.

i think it really has a lot to do with weather, and how ripe the fruit is when it is picked.
Wall-Mart's papaya is always sold very green, hard as a rock.(i hate hard papaya)
1/2 the time it gets rotten before it gets ripe. But they are Mexicans, and when they are ripe they are really good.
I am in New Orleans, so we dont get a lot of fresh fruit here.

when i eat one from my tree, i let it ripen fully.
The flesh is softer and sweeter. The flavor seems to transform as well. it goes from what i describe as a petrol, or medicinal smell,
to a more fragrant, rosy aroma.
i am thinking the age of the tree also may have something to do with it.

Papayas that are picked with any yellow coloration at all on them will continue to ripen well. If a papaya is picked totally green then they will not ripen at all. The papayas picked for export from Hawaii are picked at the right stage. But improper storage temperatures or treatment during transport, storage, and ripening can easily ruin them.
I'm sure that Mexican papayas that are grown now are much better than the Mexican papayas that i tasted 30 years ago in San Diego...at least i hope so.  I wasn't clear but that is what i was referring to. No Mexican papayas to be found around here to see if there really was any improvement.
Oscar

gunnar429

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3320
  • Nothing like fruit from your own yard!
    • West Park, FL 33023, Zone 10b
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #23 on: October 23, 2015, 10:59:17 AM »
That off smell in papayas was bred out ages ago in all the Hawaiian solo papayas. I think the people complaining about the smell must be eating Mexican type papayas, which not only smell bad but are very bland tasting. Their only attraction is huge size. For a long time these giant Mexican papayas were the only papayas available in southern California. But now Hawaii exports to most of continental USA. The problem is only their price. About 5x what we pay for them here. Papayas are so common and cheap here that they have lost a lot of their appeal for that reason alone.

Oscar, what would you consider to be the best-tasting non-GMO papaya varieties from Hawaii?
~Jeff

"Say you just can't live that negative way, if you know what I mean. Make way for the positive day." - Positive Vibration

greenman62

  • CharlesitaveNB
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1277
    • [url=https://vgruk.com/]vgr uk[/url]
    • View Profile
Re: Australians not keen on musky aftertaste of common papaya.
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2015, 02:00:56 PM »
Quote

Papayas that are picked with any yellow coloration at all on them will continue to ripen well. If a papaya is picked totally green then they will not ripen at all. The papayas picked for export from Hawaii are picked at the right stage. But improper storage temperatures or treatment during transport, storage, and ripening can easily ruin them.
I'm sure that Mexican papayas that are grown now are much better than the Mexican papayas that i tasted 30 years ago in San Diego...at least i hope so. That is what i was referring to.

i read somewhere they are supposed to be picked with between %7 and %15 yellow
in order for the fruit to ripen, but still be green enough for shipping
(this was a document for growers)
if they are picked too early they stay hard, and can rot never getting very ripe.

leaving them on the tree i fond not only increases sweetness
but, the flesh is softer, which makes a much more pleasant experience.

the fruit from wall-mart is normally "Caribbean Red" (at least here it is)
and while getting them from the market sucks
having them ripen fully, are awesome. - no "foot" smell, especially when fully ripe.