I found this thread searching for reactions to paw paw fruits. Even though it is 2 years old, I'd like to add something to the discussion. I've been officially diagnosed with a paw paw allergy, but I don't think that I have one. Both of my parents' families loved them. My paternal grandmother planted and kept a tree that became huge next to her home, and it still bears a huge crop every year, though she is long gone. My mother's family loved foraging for them. My husband and I have toyed with propogating them for a cash crop. I've planted 6 around my home as part of a small permaculture, along with hazelnuts, quince, pears, apples, grapes, elderberries and brambles.
My husband's family has 200 acres with a number of stands, and the last year they were loaded like I've never seen before. This past fall, I put up about 8 quarts of paw paw pulp, and landed myself in the emergency room with severe, painful photophobia. Light coming over the door in a dark room hurt my eyes. That is not an exaggeration - it really did. I received cortisone shots, 3 kinds of eyedrops including one that suppresses ocular pain that they normally will not give patients to take home. I have regular appointments with an olphthalmologist, to monitor my eyes, ever since. It is February, and I still have intermittent photophobia. After looking it up extensively, I really think that it was cleaning the seeds that caused the problem. This week, I finally pulled some of the pulp out of the freezer. I've been terrified of using it. Yesterday, I took a taste. Today, I took a spoonful. No real problems.
Processing-wise, I depulped the seeds after peeling the paw paws. I used an old applesauce collander with the wooden squisher. I don't remember the official names. I spooned, and handpicked the seeds out of the collander. I suspect some of the seed coating rubbed off into the pulp, this way, which is the primary source of my fear. The seeds sat overnight, and the next day, I poured them into a bowl, put some warm water in it, and cleaned them with my hands. I cleaned probably a couple hundred seeds. I put them on cookie trays to dry in the sun. Before I was finished with this process, my eyes began to hurt. I finished, but by the end of the day, I was in the bedroom with the curtain closed and the door shut, curled up. By next morning, I had moved to the darkest room in the house, in the basement, with something over my eyes because the light over the door hurt. I had my husband take me to the ER before dawn. I was told never to eat, or be around paw paws again.
I did not break out in hives. I did not have trouble breathing. I did not itch. The photophobia, however, has lingered mildly for months. I am determined to continue using paw paws. I think it is extremely important, given my experience, to consider how they are processed as a cash crop, though, for safety purposes. We've started a small grove of elderberries, and are hoping to expand it. They also have the issue of having cyanide in the leaves and seeds. So care must be taken that they are not used extensively, raw. Cooking dissipates the poisons, so we may use them for jellies and syrups. Similarly, safe processing standards should be developed for paw paws.
