Learning about crops - Paw Paw

One of the many advantages of this property over the many others we evaluated is that there are some food crops already in residence.  One of them is the paw paw.

In my reading, I keep coming across variations of the phrase of "North America's tropical fruit."  In looking at the leaves, I can certainly see why it has that description.   

 




For those who know nothing about paw paws - or, like me, had never heard of them before - paw paws are a deciduous fruit tree.  They have rather large eye-shaped leaves in a medium shade of green.  

The fruit are the most intriguing part of the paw paw. You can find them dropped from the trees (they're ripe) or can pick them directly and ripen for a day or so until slightly soft.  They only keep for a day or two after being removed from the tree.

The fruit flavors are very complex.  They have a custard-like quality with a mango/pineapple/banana flavor.  While it is somewhat appealing, I'm not a fan of mango.  While I have no intention of removing the trees, I'm not planning on actively spreading their growth, either.  In our household, we're currently planning on using them in smoothies and, perhaps, as a flavor for homemade gelato.


Growing Paw Paw
Paw paws prefer full sun, but can live in part-shade areas.  For reference, mine are typically found near the south-facing edge of the woods-line on my property.  They grow in Zones 5A through 9 and typically prefer wet-to-moist soil.  At full height, they are 25'-to-35' tall.



Nutrition Information
According to Kentucky State University's Cooperative Extension, regarding a respectably-sized paw paw (think kiwi-sized):

They are high in vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper, and manganese. They are a good source of potassium and several essential amino acids, and they also contain significant amounts of riboflavin, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and zinc. Pawpaws contain these nutrients in amounts that are generally about the same as or greater than those found in bananas, apples, or oranges.

Specific nutritional information is found on KSU's Table 2 after following the link.

10% of your RDA of Vitamin B-6, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, and niacin.  In addition, the fruit has 30% of Vitamin C, 35% of your RDH of magnesium, 22% of your RDH of copper, and a whopping 74% of your RDH of manganese.