There’s a good chance that you’ve never heard of a pawpaw, let alone tasted one.
That’s because pawpaws are quite rare and not usually found in grocery stores. These hard-to-find fruits are sought after for their delicious, sweet taste — and they may offer a few health benefits, too.
This article explains everything you need to know about pawpaws, including where they grow, how they taste, and whether they make a healthy addition to your diet.
Pawpaws are the fruit of the Asimina triloba tree, which is native to the eastern United States and southern Canada. Pawpaws are the northernmost member of the Annonaceae plant family, which consists mainly of tropical and subtropical plants (1, 2).
They’re considered the largest edible fruit native to North America, measuring 2–6 inches (5–16 cm) and 1–3 inches wide (3–7 cm) (3).
According to historical documentation, “pawpaw” is a Spanish name given to the fruit by members of conquistador Hernando de Soto’s party during a colonization attempt in the Southeastern United States. The Native American term for the fruit was assemina(3).
It’s important to note that, although the first documented report of this fruit that scholars have access to comes from a Portuguese explorer in 1541, Indigenous People started growing and eating pawpaw long before that (1).
Indigenous People used the bark of the pawpaw tree to make rope and cloth as well.
What’s more, the wide distribution of pawpaw throughout the Eastern United States is...
Read Full Story: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/paw-paw-fruit
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