Pawpaw has history

I just found out something I barely knew about pawpaws. I understand that they can’t be sold at grocery stores and marketed commercially, but I’m still surprised that they are not more commonly found in people’s backyards. They are so interesting that even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson cultivated them. Now, they seem to be only known for people who are really into native plants or a few vendors in communities.

Pawpaw’s only real commercial cultivation is in the USA and those ones are called American pawpaw. Most people from other countries using the word ‘pawpaw’ are actually referring to what you probably know as papaya. I’ve grown up eating pawpaw as well, being from Ghana.

Because of factors like the fruit do not reliably ripen after being picked and are very easily damaged, pawpaw trees do not make for very good commercial products, especially compared to apples or oranges. Compared to drupes like peaches or cherries, they really can’t be commercialized.

As far as I understand, the reason pawpaw trees are able to grow is because of the presence of what used to be large trees that have been removed for logging or town construction. For hundreds of years, people have enjoyed eating pawpaws. We didn't forget when they were poisonous, disgusting neurotoxins. In some cultures, the pawpaw are linked to very aggressive early onset Parkinson's.