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Most people do not know that there is a real Paw Paw Patch in Clifton. It is on Evanswood Place in the bird sanctuary between the Bruvold Home and the King Home. The Bruvold's own the land. I imagine they have no interest in getting everyone in the world coming over to harvest them. I was once shaking trees and Mr. Bruvold thought I was a deer. I made some wine from paw paws once but it was no good. Paw paws are only good for eating ripe. They taste like mangos. I call them a northern mango. Their taste is ambrosia. The very soft light orange yellow flesh is surrounded by large kidney bean size black seeds. Their size is from a small sausage to the size of a regular mango. The skin is light green yellow until ripe when it turns a golden yellow with brown and black splotches. Most people do not know anything about Paw Paws except the song.
But you can eat them. I have heard of one book that says they are poisonous before they are ripe and poisonous after they are ripe. The article even went on to say that when he ate a ripe one it made him sick. This author was a noted naturalist. But I can attest that you can eat them but they must be ripe. To find them you must go into the patch and gentle shake the tree where you find them. If you shake just right a ripe one will fall off. It you shake too hard a unripe on will drop and it will not ripen. If you can feel them, see that it has a gentle give to the surface. It may not be ripe but if set in a sunny window for two days it should turn from green to a greenish yellow. Then just wash and eat the whole thing skin and all. Chew around the seeds and plant them in a undergrowth of large tree for your own paw paw patch. If the paw paw does not have any give to its surface then let it be and come back tomorrow. The trees nearest to the sun will ripen earlier. Paw paws grow in bunches of two or three and if you see one there may be ripe ones directly below. You might have to fight off the ants and bugs eat it anyway. Enjoy and let me know what you think.
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