cooking and baking primitives discuss.....uh, something

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x70020

Oh my.

Denninmi  (9 posts)      Sat Oct-17-09 12:45 PM
Original message
 
Anyone here use Paw Paws?

Hello. I'm pretty new here, been reading a while, not really posting. I got sick of the right wing nutcases on some other forums, so thought I'd hang out in a better neighborhood for a while. Not that cooking is very political.

Does anyone here use paw paws for anything? I've got several trees, and I didn't like them so much at first, but they are sort of an acquired taste, kind of like caviar, that really grows on you.

One of my favorite uses is to make paw paw blondies. I actually used Martha Stewart's butterscotch blondie recipe and adapted it a bit, substituting mashed paw paw for the butterscotch chips, and adding a bit more flour to compensate for the extra moisture. I can post the recipe if anyone is interested.

Anyone else use paw paws?

What the Hades are "paw paws"?

It sounds like something a dog leaves as a souvenir.

The imperious primitive:

The empressof all   (1000+ posts)        Sat Oct-17-09 12:52 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. I have never had a paw paw

I never lived anywhere they grew. Aren't they only in the south? What are they like?

Denninmi  (9 posts)      Sat Oct-17-09 01:03 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. Paw Paws.

Hi, well, traditionally considered a southern/midwestern thing, but actually they are hardy into S. Ontario. I live in the suburbs of Detroit, and they are completely hard here.

The fruit is sort of interesting, kind of a combination of things. Texture is similar to very ripe mango or ripe banana. Flavor is hard to describe. It has a predominantly banana flavor, but it has overtones of butterscotch/caramel flavors and it has a little bit of a sort of resinous flavor that is concentrated right under the skin. They do have big, black seeds that have to be removed.

Oh.

The empressof all   (1000+ posts)        Sat Oct-17-09 09:06 PM
Response to Reply #3

4. I think they don't travel or keep well

I bet it's one of those love em or hate em kind of things as well. But I've been singing the song all day and wondering if I can grow one in WA state. I may have to investigate the growing.

Denninmi  (9 posts)      Sun Oct-18-09 08:18 AM
Response to Reply #4

6. They're fragile.

Hi, no, one reason they don't sell them commercially is that they are very fragile. They bruise easily, and they only last about 3 days once ripened. Like a banana, they go from green to yellow to black as they age.

They would grow very well in most parts of Washington state, except perhaps the cold desert or very high altitude regions. Hardy to about -20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Does one suppose the diminished primitive is 5412's mole?

Beacool  (1000+ posts)        Sat Oct-17-09 11:20 PM
Response to Original message
 
5. I had never heard of this fruit, so I went searching for info.

after which a photograph of a couple of gourds growing on a tree

surrealAmerican  (1000+ posts)      Sun Oct-18-09 11:11 PM
Response to Original message
 
8. I've always wanted to try those.

Unfortunately, I live in the city, and have no yard.

You could probably use them in jams or preserves of some sort, and likely in custards too.

Sentath  (1000+ posts)      Mon Oct-19-09 05:49 PM
Response to Original message
 
9. Oh oh oh, There is a festival in Ohio

http://www.ohiopawpawfest.com /

When I was small my father and a friend would go hunting and come back with buckets of them. I went to the festival a few years ago and still have the shirt.

I haven't found a stand to pick, too much of the river bottom land that they prefer has been plowed.

[AllosaursRus]

Does one suppose the diminished primitive is 5412's mole?

Heh, heh. You read my mind Coach!

[Celtic Rose]

Heh, heh. You read my mind Coach!

LOL, 5412 seems like a smart guy, hopefully his mole would be a bit better concealed.   

[crockspot]

Hmmm.. paw paws sound like a fruity version of okra... blech!

[delilahmused]

When I was a little girl my Nana, who grew up in Arkansas and Kansas, would sing "Way Down Yonder in the Paw-Paw Patch" to me while I followed her around as she did her housework.

Cindie

[franksolich]

When I was a little girl my Nana, who grew up in Arkansas and Kansas, would sing "Way Down Yonder in the Paw-Paw Patch" to me while I followed her around as she did her housework.

I had never heard of this phenomenon, "Paw Paws."

I've heard of a lot of things in my life, but never of these, uh, things, whatever they are.

Now, I'm supposing "Paw Paws" is the "baby-name" of these things, much like how the primitives give baby-names to vegetables.

What does one suppose the real name, the grown-up name, of these are?

Maybe I've heard that one.

[BlueStateSaint]

I had never heard of this phenomenon, "Paw Paws."

I've heard of a lot of things in my life, but never of these, uh, things, whatever they are.

Now, I'm supposing "Paw Paws" is the "baby-name" of these things, much like how the primitives give baby-names to vegetables.

What does one suppose the real name, the grown-up name, of these are?

Maybe I've heard that one.

Hands? 

[GOBUCKS]

I had never heard of this phenomenon, "Paw Paws."

I've heard of a lot of things in my life, but never of these, uh, things, whatever they are.

Now, I'm supposing "Paw Paws" is the "baby-name" of these things, much like how the primitives give baby-names to vegetables.

What does one suppose the real name, the grown-up name, of these are?

Maybe I've heard that one.

Nope, pawpaw is the proper name of the tree and fruit. I think it's supposed to be one word, but you see it written both ways. In fact, as I recall there is a town called Paw Paw in West Virginia. The tree is fairly common in the South.

[Chris]

I always thought Paw Paw was a baby name for 'grandfather'.