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Best to buy
Papaya is delicious all summer long. Choose a ripe fruit that is soft, yellow, and free of black spots. Store in the fridge for about a week. Green, unripe papayas may be thinly sliced for salads or cooked like winter squash.
Cut & clean
Rinse under cool water and cut in half. Remove flesh to use in fruit salads or purée into a thick juice. Quick tip: Papaya skin is not edible but its seeds have a peppery taste and can be crushed or left whole and sprinkled on salads.
Power food
Papaya is an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of folic acid.
A tropical snack
Halve a ripe papaya, remove the seeds, and scoop out the fruit with a spoon. Eat plain or dip into creamy vanilla yogurt for a deliciously simple, healthy snack.
Green, or unripe, papayas may be cooked like winter squash. Ripe papayas are terrific eaten plain or with a dollop of yogurt. Simply cut in half and remove the seeds; the flesh is tender enough to be scooped out with a spoon. Although papaya skin is not edible, its seeds are. Papaya seeds resemble large peppercorns and also have a peppery taste. They may be crushed and sprinkled on salads in the same way as crushed peppercorns. Left whole, they make an interesting garnish for a fruit salad. Add papaya to fruit salads or purée into a thick juice.
There are about 50 varieties of papayas, many of which are inedible and not sold commercially. Some varieties weigh up to 20 pounds (9 kg) while others average 8 ounces (227g). Most common commercial varieties, such as the Hawaiian Solo, are on the small side. Papayas with reddish flesh have a taste that differs from that of the orange-fleshed types, which are sweeter. The babáco, a natural papaya hybrid from Ecuador, is often canned or made into jam, but is also good eaten fresh.
Papaya, 1 cup (cubed) (140g)
Calories: 55
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrate: 14g
Total Fat: 0g
Fiber: 3g
*Excellent source of: Vitamin A (1,531.60IU), and Vitamin C (86.52mg)
*Good source of: Folic Acid (53.20mcg), Potassium (359.80mg), and Vitamin E (1.02IU)
*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the Recommended Daily Value.
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The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires February 2010.
