If the skin is tough and you’re not having an easy time trying to slice it open, it’s likely not ripe yet. Pawpaws give off a fruity aroma when they’re ripe. Pawpaws can differ in color depending on the specific type, so relying on color to determine if the fruit is ripe isn’t your best bet.
You can store pawpaws in the fridge for about 2 days, making it easy to pull one out whenever you’d like to cut it open.
Use a spoon to scoop out the fruit inside of the skin and eat it. Try to remove the seeds right after you cut it, as they’re not edible. The halved fruit creates a great bowl, making eating right out of the skin super easy.
You can remove the skin by creating a cut in the skin and then peeling it off all the way around the slice. Slice the pawpaw like you would cut up a banana.
A pawpaw seed is roughly the size of a large pill, making it difficult for you to swallow one accidentally.
Pawpaws will only last a couple of days before going bad, which is why they should be frozen for up to a year if you’d like to keep them fresh for longer than 2 days. If you’re going to eat the pawpaw within the next day or two, store it in the fridge in an air-tight container. Use a spoon to eat the frozen pawpaw as you would eat ice cream. Freeze the pawpaw in 2–4 c (470–950 ml) increments to make serving it easier.
You can also just freeze pawpaw pulp and eat it frozen, more like a sorbet. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, try hand-churning or a similar method.
For example, you can make pawpaw mead with very little equipment.
Make sure the pawpaw pulp doesn’t have any seeds or skin in it. Bake the pie at 350 °F (177 °C). Check on the pie every 10 minutes or so to see if the crust is browning.
You can serve the drink over ice.
Bake the pudding for 50 minutes at 350 °F (177 °C). When it’s done, you should be able to insert a toothpick into the center with it coming out clean.
