Intolerance to Pawpaw Fruit

I don't think that peanut is toxic like snake venom but alot of people are allergic to it and some even die in less than 10 minutes.
I also dont think that pawpaw is toxic but others might be allergic to it.

In the Caribbean, it is traditionally prepared:
diluted with water + lime/lemon for the sour flavored ones
diluted with condensed milk + water.
I have never seen anyone heat treat it (syrup/bake/fry/boil)

I don't think I ever seen anyone eating over 1lbs of 'raw/fresh' fruit from the tree.
Compared to say banana, mangoes, sugar cane, 'apple', etc.

Either way, listen to your body.

Since moving to western Virginia and getting some land with wild pawpaws, we’ve been trying different recipes. Ice cream, cheesecake, pudding, and today pawpaw waffles. Seemed crazy but both my wife and I got nauseated after the waffles and hadn’t eaten anything else. Never had a problem with any other recipe. So perhaps it is the high heat of the waffle griddle that does something to the fatty acids as mentioned by others. We’ll probably stick to fresh or frozen at this point.

S Bengi wrote:
In the Caribbean, it is traditionally prepared:
diluted wi...

This discussion is not about papaya, it is about Asimina triloba, which does not grow in the Caribbean. The name "pawpaw" causes a lot of confusion. This "pawpaw," Asimina triloba, is native to the eastern US, places like Kentucky and Virginia, I think, though it can be grown in other temperate places. It is not a tropical fruit.

It belongs to the genus Asimina in the same plant family (the Annonaceae) as the TROPICAL custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, ylang-ylang and soursop.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba

There is about 2000 species in the entire 'american pawpaw family - Annonaceae'
Out of the 2000 species only about 10 grows in temperate/american climate the others are all tropical.
Some native to the tropics of Central&South America including the Caribbean, others from tropical Africa and Asia.

In the Caribbean, custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, and quite a few other 'wild' species are eaten (they are also all sweet). There are a few 'sour' species including soursop and it's related wild species.

I do understand that most of the former British colonies in the world except America use the world pawpaw to identify papaya, similar to football vs soccer.
Luckily I didn't get confused by pawpaw vs papaya.

It seems that alot of people in USA also eat the skin. In the Caribbean no one eats the skin similar to banana skin or orange skin.
In fact the leaves/bark/skin can be used as a toxic insecticide. Just soak them in some water and then spray the toxic tea on the plants that have been over-run by insects.

In fact some French guys came to the Caribbean started drinking 'pawpaw leaf tea' (specifically soursop leaf tea) and eating the skin of it.
It didn't end well for them, they ended up with Parkinsons and other brain disorder. In fact it is thru these 1990's test samples the western medical world was able to quantify the insecticide and neurotoxins in the pawpaw family.
https://scienceofparkinsons.com/2017/12/16/paq/#more-48745

Edit: Now that I think about it the pawpaws with citrus overtones (sour) are never eaten straight from the tree only the sweet ones were on occasion.
Instead they were neutralized with lime juice and milk.

But all is not lost, the pawpaw fruit also contain a host of wonderful MPAQ, PAQ and melatonin-like compounds that protect and rejuvenate neurons.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00297

Ethan Brazell wrote:We have two large 8 year old trees on our property that I picked up from a local native plant nursery. We have gotten about a hundred fruits between the two trees for the past three years and we usually eat a couple handfuls with no ill effects. This past week we've had quite a few, again with zero problems for me or my three young kids.
Today, for the first time we made pawpaw bread. It was pretty tasty and we liked it..but half way through my youngest said the bread was making him sick... (Something he really never does ) Soon after I started feeling nauseous, followed by my other two kids and then my wife. Eventually it induced vommiting for me..after which I felt immediately better. No fun, and all around unusual for us. It certainty hasn't ruined the fruit for me, or my love of the trees, but we won't be cooking with them again any time soon.

I'm not sure if you saw my post on this thread, but I tried baking pawpaw bread three times and became nauseous each time. Didn't catch on to the fact that it was the pawpaw in the oven that was causing the ill feeling until the third time. It was similar to feeling motion sickness. Headache, dry mouth, nausea. I've eaten plenty of raw pawpaw sine then with no problem.

duane hennon wrote:

IMHO
I think the entire subject is being overblown
I have been dealing with these fruits for over 20 years and have yet had anyone have a problem with them
either fresh or in breads, pies , puddings, or ice cream

If one would want to mention that those with sensitivities maywant to  be cautious is OK
but to paint them with a "the sky is falling" label is overkill

Funny...I didn't hear "the sky is falling" and I was grateful to hear input from other folks who have had the same/similar reaction to cooked pawpaw as I had. With anything new you put into your body it's good to be informed and cautious. I've been eating raw pawpaw like a voracious forest animal for almost 20 years and I enjoy it immensely. I'm also grateful to hear scientific theories of why the cooked pawpaw might have an adverse reaction to some people.

Dried, got nauseous from just a little.

Raw, I eat them at least 2 a day...just cant stop eating them!!!  And I love the smell.  No I'll effects.

I think I wont that one I just cooked though...

Nicole Alderman wrote:My husband has been super excited about a banana custard-flavored treat that he could eat, and telling him that they could cause more intestinal problems would likely crush his spirit. Mine's kind of crushed right now! We really don't want a Crohn's flare up (his flare ups include diarrhea for days, horrible stomach pain, arthritus so bad he was hospitalized, fistulas, interior and exterior ulcers and uveitis. He was was bedridden for a week last time, and then on crutches for about a month. It's been 6 months, and his knee is still not back to normal. This isn't something we want to mess around with!).

I don'e even know if I should we should try introducing them to him at all, or just get different varieties, or just introduce them really slowly. I'm just so sad!

I'm not a medical professional but here's my experience with autoimmune disease and pawpaws... I have ulcerative colitis and fresh pawpaw has NEVER given me any sort of discomfort or UC symptoms. Like others have mentioned, I too experience nausea and general gastrointestinal discomfort from cooked pawpaw's. I've made bread and muffins, both causing symptoms. I will say that these symptoms aren't similar to a UC flare up, but rather a mild case of food poisoning. Interesting enough, I've made a pawpaw pudding(baked at a much lower temperature), and didn't have an issue.