Paw Paw

I ate my first paw paw of the season today. It's the latest this has ever occurred that I can remember. They are usually ripening by early September and are often gone by this late in September.

Paw paw has an appalachian ring to it, conjuring up an image of a dog extremity or ma's husband. A paw paw is a potato-sized wild fruit which grows on 10-20 foot tall trees in the deep woods throughout the midwest and south. They have never caught on as a mainstream fruit. It has unusual flavor (an acquired taste), is soft and bruises easily, and has many large seeds in the fruit.


Paw paws do have a cult following in some areas. There is the Paw Paw Festival in Ohio and The Ohio Paw Paw Growers Association. Paw Paws have been linked to some medicinal uses - from a laxative in the late 1800's to controlling cellular growth in cancer tumors in the late 20th century. The latter has fascinated me because there appeared to be legimitate research supporting this claim. But I've heard little about it beyond limited paw paw enthusiasts' discussion. 

Dad has had a liking for paw paws for many years. He was amazed when we moved the Bittersweet Woods to see how many paw paw trees we have on our few acres of forest land. I assumed that he went into the woods as a kid to find paw paws. But he said that his father knew about a single tree outside of town. They used to stop there each fall when the paw paws ripened. This week has been tough for him with various ailments that 88 year-olds often face. He was frazzled when I stopped the other day; but his face broke into a wide smile when I placed a large ripe paw paw in his hand.