Papaya, << puh PY uh, >> is a nutritious tropical fruit that has edible flesh and seeds. People usually eat the fruits fresh for breakfast, for dessert, or as an ingredient in salads.
Papaya flesh is rich in vitamins A and C, as well as potassium and calcium. In addition, green immature papayas yield papain, a substance used to aid digestion. Ripe papayas have little or no papain. People obtain this substance by drying the sticky, white milk that the fruits release when their skin is scratched.
Papayas vary in shape, with many appearing round or oval. Most grow between 5 and 6 inches (13 and 15 centimeters) long and weigh about 1 pound (0.5 kilogram). The fruit’s smooth skin generally has greenish-yellow to orange coloring when ripe. Its flesh varies from 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) thick and ranges from light yellow to deep salmon pink in color. A mass of round, black, wrinkled seeds cling to inner walls of the flesh.
Papayas grow on slender, hollow-stemmed plants that may reach a height of 25 feet (8 meters) or more. The plants grow best in fertile, well-drained soil. They develop quickly from seeds and begin to bear fruit 9 to 12 months after planting.
The papaya is native to tropical regions of North and South America. But people grow the fruit commercially in many warm areas around the world. Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, India, and Mexico rank as the world’s leading producers. In the United States, growers cultivate papayas in Hawaii and Florida.
In New Zealand and some other English-speaking countries, papayas are also called pawpaws. However, papayas are not the same as the pawpaw fruit of the southern United States (see Pawpaw).
