On 5/2/2012 4:37 AM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
> I don't think I've ever eaten papaya before. But the market had a
> sale& there was an nice looking ethnic lady looking them all over, so
> I asked her if she could give me some pointers on picking a good one.

Papaya is eaten by about 60% of the elderly population every morning in
this town. Evidently there's something in papaya that old folks crave.
My wife feeds my mother-in-law papaya almost every morning and I
frequently have to go to the store to pick up a couple. Currently it's
selling for $1.39/lb. I don't eat it myself but I have to admit that
it's quite tasty and refreshing when I do.

Green papaya is high in digestive enzymes. You can use it to tenderize
meats. My understanding is that tenderizing meats with papaya and
pineapple was a common practice in Hawaii during WWII. My guess is that
green and ripe papaya probably helps with digestion.

>
> Followed the rules of most melons with soft/color, sniff test, no
> blemishes. . .
>
> And it was easy to find a 'perfect one'. So with high hopes, as soon
> as I got home I sliced off a bit. The color and texture had me
> even more convinced that *this* was the perfect papaya.
>
> Then I ate a piece. Mmmmm. . . smooth, sweet. . . . dirty socks.
>
> Daughter says it tastes good. I can't get the 'dirty sock' taste
> out of my mouth.
>
> Papaya joins scotch, cilantro, avocado and EVOO in the
> tastes-good-to-others-but-not-to-me category. Bummer. If I could
> get past the dirty socks taste there seems to be a good flavor back
> there someplace.
>
> Any thoughts on how to cover it? Salt? strawberries? vinegar?
>
> I've got a nice big ripe papaya that it would be a shame to waste.
>
> Thanks,
> Jim