When Do Green Papayas Ripen? A Detailed Guide to Ripening Time
Once a green papaya ripens, it has yellow skin and red flesh, and is rich in papain, papaya protease, chymopapain, carotene and more, as well as over seventeen kinds of amino acids and various nutrients. It is a very healthy fruit, so when do green papayas ripen?
1. When do papayas ripen?
Papayas generally ripen in September-October, and late summer to early autumn is the season when green papayas ripen. The ripening time may vary somewhat depending on the variety and the region.
2. The benefits of green papaya
1. Calming the heart and moistening the lungs: it can be eaten stewed, and papaya stewed with rock sugar can calm the heart and moisten the lungs and treat laryngitis and other ailments.
2. Promoting longevity: papaya is also known in China as the “longevity fruit”; eating more of it can promote longevity.
3. Caring for your hair: washing the hair with a decoction of papaya can add shine to the hair. Taiping Shenghui Fang records: combing the hair with oil infused with papaya can treat “dry, lusterless hair”.
4. Treating athlete's foot: washing the feet with papaya can treat athlete's foot and swelling. There is an interesting story: a man named Gu Anzhong from Guangde, Anhui, suffered from severe athlete's foot, with cramped tendons and swollen legs, and could not walk, so he had to take a boat home. As the boat traveled on the water, he was frowning with worry. Feeling troubled, he absentmindedly rested both feet on a sack used for packing goods. When he got off the boat, he actually found that his swollen legs had gone down and the pain had disappeared. Astonished, he quickly asked the boatman what was in the sack. The boatman answered that it was papaya. After Gu Anzhong returned home, he bought papayas, sliced them and put them in a sack, and rested his feet on it every day, and before long his athlete's foot swelling was cured. This record shows that papaya is indeed effective in treating rheumatic pain.
5. Applying to external hemorrhoids: papaya can also be used to apply to external hemorrhoids and reduce ulcers. If papaya juice is rubbed on ulcerated skin, it can speed up the healing of the ulcer surface.
6. Antibacterial and antimicrobial: modern medicine has also found that papaya contains carpaine, which has effects such as anesthetizing the central nervous system and acting against amoebic dysentery, tumors, bacteria and parasitic diseases; it has a marked therapeutic effect on calf muscle cramps and also has activity against lymphatic leukemia.
7. Promoting digestion: eating papaya also helps the stomach and intestines digest and absorb food. When you are at a banquet, or dining at home, and have eaten a lot of eggs, meat, milk and some foods that are hard to digest, and your stomach feels uncomfortable, eating some papaya will make the discomfort disappear. The reason is that the protein-digesting enzyme in papaya is at work; this enzyme can digest protein and helps the body digest and absorb food, and therefore has the effect of strengthening the spleen and aiding digestion. Also, if you have eaten too much meat, the fat will accumulate in the lower body. At this point, after eating some papaya, the enzymes in papaya will help break down the meat, reduce the workload of the stomach and intestines, and let fleshy legs gradually become more slender.
8. Fading spots and moisturizing the skin: papaya helps balance and strengthen the physiological metabolic balance of hormones in adolescents and during pregnancy, reduces the occurrence of dark spots, pigmentation and acne on the face, and can fade existing pigmentation and dark spots and moisturize and nourish the skin.
9. Promoting the flow of qi and blood: the oleanolic acid component contained in papaya is a compound with effects such as protecting the liver, lowering enzymes, fighting inflammation, inhibiting bacteria, lowering blood lipids and softening blood vessels. Because papaya is warm in nature, neither cold nor drying, its nutrients are easily absorbed directly by the skin, especially its lung-moistening function. When the lungs are properly moistened, they can better promote the flow of qi and blood, making it easier for the body to absorb ample nutrients, so that the skin becomes smooth, soft and fine, with fewer wrinkles and a rosy complexion.