How to Peel and Seed a Papaya

An excellent source of both vitamin A and vitamin C, with plenty of fiber, folate, and potassium, papaya is considered a superior food for your immune system and your skin. Also, it’s packed with vitamins and papain, an enzyme that enhances digestion. All this, and it’s delicious too. To purchase a ripe papaya at its finest, choose one with reddish orange skin and flesh that yields to gentle pressure.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cutting board
• Sharp chef’s knife
• Spoon
• Melon baller or small cookie scoop
• Sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler

1. To peel and seed a papaya, wash the fruit and dry it well. Lay it on a cutting board and use a sharp chef’s knife to cut it in half lengthwise.

2. Use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds from the center of the fruit. To make cleanup easier, you can do this right over the garbage can.

3. At this point, you can eat the flesh directly from the papaya half, scooping it out with a spoon. Or, you can use a melon baller or small cookie scoop to scoop the flesh out for use in fruit salads or other desserts.

4. If you prefer to cut a papaya into slices, you can remove the peel with a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler. Then simply slice the papaya halves according to the thickness you desire.

Tips & Warnings

• The papaya’s peppery seeds are edible and some prefer to leave a few to accent the sweetness of the papaya flesh. If desired, you can reserve the seeds to use in salad dressings and marinades.
• If you want to ripen a yellow papaya, place it in a paper bag with a few bananas and leave on the counter top for a day or two. Avoid any that are predominantly green or very hard, as well as those that are overripe or visibly bruised.
• Store a ripe papaya in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Unripe papaya cannot be eaten raw due to its latex content. It must first be boiled or otherwise cooked.

Resources

• Papaya info