It’s time for some green papaya recipes!
We got our first ripe papaya of the year this morning; a delicious yellow-skinned oblong with deep orange-red flesh. The taste as superb, and there are many, many other papaya on the tree that would soon ripen… if I didn’t live in North Florida.
Frosts are on their way. Some day soon, the 100lbs+ of green papaya on my trees need to be picked or they’ll be destroyed by frost.
I know, my fight to grow tropical fruit here is an uphill battle. But I’m dedicated to doing the impossible!
That said, I still need to figure out what to do with zillions of green fruit. There are only so many we can consume fresh, so I’ve been hunting down recipes on the web involving fermentation or vinegar pickling.
Here are a few I’ve found so far, including a sweet relish recipe where I’ll substitute green papaya for cucumber. Anyone have any more suggestions?
Filipino Achara: How To Make Green Papaya Pickle Relish
The second day of pickling the Filipino “achara” (say ‘ah-cha-ra’) is
always the best. The tangy, tart, sweet and slightly spicy flavors are
sharp and perky. This is the perfect stage when the sourness of the
achara is great for pairing as a relish or side to barbecued or grilled
pork, chicken, beef, seafood, vegetables or just anything your tummy
desires…
Indian Papaya Pickles
250ml Vinegar
250ml Water
250g Sugar
1 Green Papaya (unripe)
1 tbsp Salt
6 tsp Bird’s Eye Chili
(Read the rest here)
Raw Fermented Sweet Pickle Relish
Made sauerkraut style and chock full of lovely probiotics.
I love this on my salad, in soups or as a snack with some raw crackers.
Ingredients:
1 cuke
1/2 small red bell pepper
1/2 tsp salt
(Read the rest here)
One other thing I could do is simply chop all my green papaya into pieces, then use a Kosher dill pickle recipe on them and see how they turn out.
Papaya don’t have much flavor at all when they’re green – I imagine I could substitute them for just about anything.
12 responses to “Green papaya recipes”
Coincidence? I think not, but still intriguing…. I was just about to email you a photo of my current bounty of green papaya from my newly fallen tree. I went to your website to find your email address, and I see your post here. Crazy. God is good :)
…all the time!
My mom used to make this when we were kids. "Dulce de Papaya" (candied papaya)
1 whole Papaya (green)
¼ cups Baking Powder
6 cups Warm Water
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cinnamon stick
Peel the papaya
Scoop out the seeds
Cut the papaya into 1/2-inch thick wedges the length of the papaya.
Dissolve the baking powder in the water in a big bowl.
Soak the wedges in the bowl for about 10 minutes.
Rinse under cold water in a colander.
In a pot, combine the sugar and the papaya.
Cook covered on medium-high for 15 to 20 minutes, stir once in a while
After 20 minutes, add the vanilla and the cinnamon stick,
simmer on low and uncovered, until a thick syrup forms.
Cool slightly before enjoying!
refrigerates well and keeps forever.
We ate it with farmer's cheese or cottage cheese. Yum!
Thank you for the recipe. I had something similar that a Cuban friend made for us once. Very cool!
We had green papayas this year that had to be harvested early and some of it I cubed and put into soups, like a squash, and I experimented with some that I peeled, deseeded and sliced the size of apple slices. I baked a casserole dish heaped with them and tossed with lemon juice, few pinches of sea salt, and about as much sugar and cinnamon as an apple pie. It had to cook longer than apples would, I think about 1 1/2 hrs at 350 F, but it tasted delicious! I think next time I'd use part brown sugar and when it's about done, top with a walnut crumb topping.
That sounds awesome. My wife did something similar with nutmeg and cinnamon… mmm.
Thanks for including my Filipino Achara, Green Papaya Pickles mention and link back to my blog post http://www.AsianInAmericamag.com. Thanks for the other good papaya tips here.
You bet. Thanks for putting up the recipe.
I slice payaya that has a tinge of yellow into cubes and fry it in a little bacon grease with sliced whole cloves of fresh garlic. When finished, sprinkle with a little more garlic salt. It is heavenly.
Here’s one recipe we love to do:
Peel the green papayas, clean out seeds. Cube into bite sized pieces. Toss with seasoned salt, chili powder & olive oil. Roast in 400 degree oven til tender. Our family loves this….Delicious!! I also cube them into soups & stews.
Green papaya is pretty versatile. I’d like to try the dulce recipe above. Will also try some lacto-fermenting & see how that goes. We have tons of papayas, with more on the way. They grew wild out of our compost heaps. Thanks for the ideas!
My thumbs to you for your effort to raise papaya though you are not living in a tropical country. I know it is not an easy task but you succeed. I want to try one of your papaya recipes because we had lots of papayas here. Thanks for sharing and more power to you!
[…] If you end up with a bunch of green papayas right before a frost and they’re too green to eat, check out the green papaya recipes I posted. […]