It may come as a surprise that the exotic-tasting pawpaw fruit is cultivated in Canada. Chef Tawnya Brant describes pawpaws as a delightful experience if you manage to acquire one.
According to Brant, owner of Yawékon Foods and host of APTN’s One Dish One Spoon, the fruit embodies a blend of banana, mango, and pineapple flavors, with a creamy consistency that turns almost caramel-like as it matures.
She likened the appearance of pawpaws to a unique, slightly squat banana with an oval shape and large seeds inside.
Pawpaws have a long history in North America, once flourishing from Florida to Missouri and southern Ontario. Indigenous communities cultivated them extensively before being displaced due to land clearing for agriculture. Despite their resilience in pockets of southern Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, pawpaws remain relatively obscure.
One of the primary reasons for their obscurity is their short shelf life and susceptibility to bruising, making commercial harvesting and distribution challenging.
Venturing into the wild pawpaw territory near London, Ontario, with forager and ecologist Mathis Natvik.
Brant’s encounter with pawpaws began approximately ten years ago when a friend introduced them to her late mother’s garden. She had heard of the fruit before, knowing that the Haudenosaunee had transported the trees up the eastern coast