We have an abundance of pawpaws. They grow like weeds (I often bury to seeds and a whole new crop spring up). Big bunches of green pawpaws often hang on the trunk for six months or more. We don’t spray them at all and the early ones can get scale on them which doesn’t look exciting. However they are perfectly alright if I pick them and peel them. Inside the fruit is fine.
The choice is to pick them green or wait until they are just precisely at the point of ripe (one day later and flying foxes eat them).
We used to always wait until they were ripe as they are delicious ripe as a fresh fruit with breakfast.
However someone told us you could use them green exactly like mashed potato so we tried and it is true.
Green pawpaw can be peeled then chopped into chunks and boiled (remove the seeds!) like potato then drained and mashedand is very like mashed potato with a subtle flavour difference. Perfectly acceptable.
Getting brave we have now tried chopping them up into ‘chips’ and frying them on the BBQ along with our steak and onions. Works great!
Have heard that green pawpaw ointment (???skin ???flesh) is very ‘healing’ for ??? Does anyone know any more than this?