I’ve come to appreciate papayas on a new level. The tree is low maintenance & ornamental; often mistaken by the novice for a type of palm tree. The papaya tree produces fruit abundantly year round in south Florida. My disdain for waste has forced me to discover creative & delicious uses for the fruit.

Papaya is high in antioxidants (i.e. vitamins A/C/E) & is known to improve digestion & aid weight loss. It is most often eaten when yellow & ripe, but can also be enjoyed when the fruit exterior is green & unripe.

I routinely add fresh/frozen papaya to smoothies. It can also be blended with ginger & turmeric, then strained into a nutritious juice. Papaya salsa is one of my new favorite things. I even add pureed papaya to pancake batter; often topping the pancakes with diced papaya & toasted coconut for a tropical breakfast. Ripe papaya puree also bakes nicely into a loaf of papaya nut bread or desserts.

The unripe/green papaya is used more as a vegetable, like squash. It is great cubed & added to stews/soups. The green papaya is also delicious shredded & tossed into a noodle dish or salad.

Considering it’s one of the fastest trees to fruit from seed (~9 months), it’s worthwhile to have a few papaya trees in your landscape to enjoy the versatile fruit.