Paw Paws

        When I was talking about paw paws to Danny, our friendly postal clerk in the local post office in Lebanon, Missouri, he became excited and brought me a copy of an article from Southern Living Magazine. The article is by Steve Bender. Here it is:

        Eating your first paw paw is like kissing your first mule. It goes better if you close your eyes. Granted, most of you will never have the chance to test either situation. But if you do, you'll be much more likely to kiss the mule.

        Hardly anyone I know has even seen a paw paw, much less eaten one. And that's pretty remarkable considering the paw paw

grows wild over most of the Southeast, as well as Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, and east Texas. It's also the largest native fruit in the continental United States, sometimes weighing a pound or more.

        Why have people snubbed it? Well, for one thing, the fruit looks  about as tasty as a fungus souffle. It is a lumpy, banana-, peanut-, or potato -shaped thing that sports a greenish-yellow skin with greasy-brown smudges. Even Adam wouldn't have been tempted.

        No doubt, the first American Indian to sample what European settlers later termed an “Indiana banana” was both very courageous and very hungry. He was also well rewarded.

        The orange flesh feels like egg custard on the palate. Its flavor blends nuances of mango, papya, and peach.

        Dale Brooks, a paw paw fancier in Decatur, Alabama, says paw paws are so fragrant , one ripe fruit will perfume a room. “Some people say they get a giddy feeling from the odor,” he reports. “I can't attest to that, but I do know that when I have them lying around the house, I'm extremely happy.”

        In the wild, paw paw trees favor the slightly acid soil of rich bottom lands and moist floodplains. Growing 25 to 30 feet tall, they develop a narrowly pyramidal shape. Large, droopy leaves lend them an exotic look, as do weird, maroon flowers that appear in spring.

This is fitting, considering that the paw paw (Asimina triloba) is the only temperate member of the custard apple family (Annonaceae), which includes such tropical fruit as the cherimoya and guanabana.

        Established paw paws are notoriously hard to transplant. So if you want them, you have to conserve existing trees or buy small plants through the mail. Good mail-order sources include Sweetbay Farm 912-225-1688, Dale Brooks nursery 256-353-5954, Shewood's Greenhouses 318-377-3653, and Hidden Springs Nursery, 170 Hidden Springs Lane, Cookeville, TN 38501 (ships in November).

        Look for named selections, such as 'Mango,' 'Sunflower,' 'Rebecca's Gold', and 'Overlesse' rather than seedlings, because you'll get more and better fruit. Be sure to plant at least two different selections for cross-pollination.

        That's no sweat for Dale—he has about 17 different selections. He says they're easier to grow than other fruit trees. They don't need spraying and will tolerate considerable shade (although they fruit more heavily in sun).