papaya's?

[jaxc]

So I'm about to go grocery shopping in a few days and I want to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in my diet, but more specifically I want to get some papaya's. I actually tried one before( a large variety) and I might of picked a bad specimen, it was predominantly green with a slight yellow tint and a big yellow splotch on the side and when I went to try a piece it was extremely bitter and unpleasant( I also used a clean carbon steel knife to cut a piece if that's relevant) and I don't want to make the same mistake again, so can anybody knowledgeable give some advice for buying good papaya?(I want to get some to eat raw and in smoothies)

[LONDONER]

From this:

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/foo...taste-like

it seems that it's the luck of the draw.

[Lilitu]

Papayas do tend to be bitter, but they sure do taste good when they do taste good.

Once I had this papaya tapioca pudding soup and it was so delicious

[Evan88]

We eat a lot of papayas here... I guess you picked the unripe perhaps?? The unripe one is being used for some stew here and some dishes...

I think you are seeking for the ripe one (orange color inside)

You just have to pinch the papaya first, if it's quite tender then it must be ripe...

The greenish inside with a mild bitter taste would be really unripe and it is not being used for smoothies etc

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Understand most fruits and veg that arrive on a store shelf are not fully ripened yet.

Papaya when picked are picked before they are ripe. They are green and hard and not very tasty when they boxed up and shipped to wherever you bought them from. As a side effect a decent amount of them are picked too soon and no amount of waiting will result in their ripening up fully.

I personally wait until they are soft and a little squishy. I just keep them in the fruit bowl with the bananas and other fruit. However there are other methods to ripen them found at this link:

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?pfriendly...p&dbid=201

I have personally gotten more than my fair share of ones that went from unripe to rotten without no real ripening. I believe mangos are the same way.

[Festino]

Get the most orange you can.

And once you get it to your house take a blunt knife and make small longitudinal cuts on its skin so the acid drips out and it is bitter no more