How to Pick a Ripe Papaya
Papayas are eaten as fresh fruits, cut up in salads, incorporated in soups and stews, roasted, and enjoyed in smoothies. This fruit contains healthful vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, B, C and E, potassium, iron and calcium. Papayas continue to ripen after harvest. However, if you want to eat or cook with one right away, you must harvest them when they are completely ripe, which is also when they contain the most vitamins and minerals. You can tell when papayas are ready to pick by their color more than anything else. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Look at the color of the smooth skin of the papaya. If it has turned from a dark green to yellow or yellow-orange, it is ripe and ready to pick.
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Feel the large, round end of the papaya. Press on it with your fingertips. The flesh should indent slightly when the fruit is ripe.
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Hold the papaya up to your ear and give it a good shake. If the fruit is ripe, you will hear the seeds rattling around inside.
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Tips & Warnings
You can't smell a papaya. It has no scent whether it's green or ripe. Only when a papaya is cut open do you smell a sweet, musklike aroma.
Papayas that are half green and half yellow are nearly ripe. They can be placed in a brown paper bag and left on the counter for a day or two to finish ripening.
If you find a ripe papaya that has a few black or green spots on its skin, it's perfectly fine. The spots won't affect the flavor of the fruit.
You can't judge the ripeness of a papaya by its size. Some grow to be nearly 2 feet long.
References
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