How to Pick a Perfect Papaya—and Ways to Enjoy This Delicious Fruit

Choosing the right papaya can be intimidating for the uninitiated. However, if you know how to pick a papaya both at its peak and when it's still green, you'll be rewarded with a wealth of delicious possibilities for expanding your everyday repertoire. After all, this fleshy fruit can be used in countless ways, both raw and cooked, which is one of many reasons why it's hugely popular across the globe.

To help you pick a good papaya, we're sharing everything you need to know about the fruit, including tips for selecting and choosing the right type—ripe or green—for your recipe.

What Is Papaya?

Carica papaya is the botanical name of the papaya tree. The slender, bare trunk boasts a canopy of deeply lobed leaves, with female trees carrying the fruit, and male trees bearing edible flowers. Despite its heft, papaya is considered a berry, filled with edible, peppery black seeds.

• Origins: One of the oldest fruits to be cultivated, papayas are native to southern Mexico and Central America.
• Defining characteristics: The juicy yellow, orange, or rosy flesh of good papaya is sweet with a musky intensity. The fruits may be fist-sized or larger, depending on the cultivar.
• Fruit and vegetable: Apart from the fruit, many cultures value the young leaves and buds as a vegetable and the seeds as both seasoning, tenderizer, and medicine.
  

Where Papayas Are Grown

The United States is the world's biggest importer of papaya and grows only about 0.1 percent of total world papaya production (in Florida, California, and Texas). They are cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas, with India as the world's largest papaya producer, followed by Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Mexico. 

Picked green: For export, papaya is picked underripe, which makes it easier to transport. Like other subtropical fruits—think avocado, banana, passion fruit—papaya continues to ripen after harvest.

Fruit-ripening methods: Some fruits will also be subjected to Delayed Ripening (DR) technology, either by genetic modification or the physical control of ethylene production which can affect flavor.

Problems With Papayas

Papaya skin is thin and the fruit is highly susceptible to viral and fungal diseases; most papayas are treated with fungicides or hot water baths before shipping. Genetically modified papayas were pioneered in Hawaii to combat one of the most notorious papaya diseases, papaya ringspot virus (PRS), transmitted by fruit flies.

If you are concerned about genetically engineered fresh produce, look for "no GMO" or organic certification on labels. (Note that organic doesn't mean unsprayed; many organic-approved pesticides are highly toxic.)

Why Papaya Smells Bad to Some People

Two friends sharing the same papaya may have polar opposite reactions to its scent, one finding it delectable and the other finding it offensive. Several factors may contribute to papaya's sweaty sock reputation:

• Blame it on enzymes: Its most famous enzyme, papain, which makes papaya an effective meat tenderizer, breaks down proteins. Protease enzymes can produce foul-smelling molecules to which some people are more sensitive. The off-smell may also be due to glucosidases, whose sulfurous associations also give the mustard family its distinctive reek.
• Vitamin odor: Papaya contains B vitamins (making it exceptionally nutritious), which are sometimes linked with a strong smell (think love-it or hate-it Marmite).

Where to Buy a Papaya

Most grocery stores stock papayas year-round. If you live in a city with Asian, Caribbean, or Central or South American communities, fresh produce markets in those neighborhoods can be the best place to find delicious papayas, thanks to high turnover and discerning customers. Papayas can also be ordered online and shipped directly from growers to your door.

How to Pick a Papaya That's Sweet and Ripe

It is notoriously hard to predict the flavor of papaya unless you have literally picked that papaya ripe off a tree—which most of us can't do.

Read the Label

The best way to differentiate a tasty papaya from a bland one in a store is to pay attention to the labels. Where it was grown, its name, and where you bought it will allow you to keep track of the good and the tasteless.

Choose Smaller Fruits

Generally, smaller papaya tend to have predictably better flavor; look for elongated 'Strawberry' and similar cultivars (they have red flesh).

Go Local (If Possible)

Papayas grown near to market, or transported there quickly, will likely taste better. If the papaya has been on a ship or kept in storage for weeks, the results are harder to predict.

Look for Changing Colors

If you want to eat a sweet and ripe papaya, choose a fruit whose skin is already beginning to change color from green to yellow or orange. Better yet, buy a papaya that has reached peak color and is not bruised.

Smell and Feel It

The best way to tell if a papaya is ripe is by its super-sweet, slightly musky scent.  At this point, you can slice it, scoop out the seeds, and inhale a spoonful.

How to Use a Ripe Papaya

A few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• For a refreshing breakfast, squeeze lime juice over chunks of papaya.
• Honor the papaya's Mexican roots by sprinkling it with chile powder.
• Small papayas, halved and roasted, make a simple and elegant dessert.
• If the papaya's flavor is bland, give it a smoothie makeover, by whizzing it in a blender with lime and honey.
• Add yogurt for a restorative papaya lassi.
• A spicy chutney will make the most of a large papaya.
  

How to Store a Papaya

Keep a ripening papaya at room temperature—and only transfer it to the fridge when it is perfectly ripe.

Green Papayas

If you're using an unripe green papaya in recipes, the fruit should be hard and deep green when you buy it. Its flesh and seeds are white.

Using a Green Papaya

Raw, green papaya has a crisp texture that holds onto any dressing beautifully. Try it in a classic Thai-style green papaya salad, pairing the crunchy fruit with limes, chiles, and fish sauce.

How to Store Green Papayas

At home, green papaya should be kept in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.