When do papayas ripen and hit the market? Are they cooling or warming in nature? Which producing regions have the best-tasting ones?
Papaya belongs to the genus Chaenomeles in the rose family (Rosaceae), a shrub or small tree, and can be used for food and medicine. So when does it ripen and go on the market? Is it cooling or warming in nature? Which producing regions have the best-tasting ones? According to Rosaceae data, papaya (pawpaw), a tropical fruit, is a tropical crop that can flower and fruit all year round, and places like Guangzhou have given it the title of “King of Fruits of All Seasons”; that is to say, it ripens and is available for harvest and market in every season. A fully ripe papaya has golden-yellow skin, but because the flesh is soft and easily bruised, for convenient transport it is generally harvested and shipped while not yet fully ripe and still greenish, like bananas, and then ripened before going on the market.
Is papaya cooling or warming in nature?
1. Papaya is neither cooling nor warming; it is warming in nature. Papaya is neither cold nor drying and belongs to the warming category, so it is generally suitable for most people to eat and will not have a nature-related effect on the body. Papaya contains papain, the main nutrient for breast enhancement, but this component is sensitive to high temperatures, so eating papaya raw gives a better breast-enhancing effect.
2. Papaya is delicious and also has medicinal food value, with especially strong beauty benefits for women. The proteolytic enzymes contained in papaya can compensate for pancreatic and intestinal secretions, supplement insufficient gastric juice, and help break down protein and starch. Papaya contains carotene and abundant vitamin C, which have strong antioxidant capacity, help the body repair tissues, eliminate toxic substances, boost human immunity, and help the body resist viral invasion including influenza A. The active ingredients in papaya fruit can enhance the effectiveness of phagocytes.
3. Because of its graceful tree form, clustered flowers, abundant blooms and beautiful flower color, papaya is also often used as an ornamental tree species, and can also serve as rootstock for grafting crabapple, or be cultivated as a bonsai in courtyards or gardens, with functions in urban greening and garden landscaping.
Which producing regions have delicious papayas?
1. Xuan papaya [Xuanzhou, Xuancheng City, Anhui]. In 420 AD, Xuan papaya was already presented to the imperial court as tribute. According to research, Xuan papaya has a cultivation history of more than 1,600 years. “Compendium of Materia Medica” records: “Papaya is found everywhere, but the one from Xuancheng is the best.” Moreover, Xuan papaya is one of China's four famous rare traditional Chinese medicinal materials.
2. Luhe papaya [Luhe County, Shanwei, Guangdong]. Luhe papaya under the Shengbao brand has successively won honorary titles such as “Guangdong Famous Brand Product”, “Guangdong Famous Trademark” and “Shanwei Gold Medal Agricultural Product”, and has passed multiple organic product certifications in China, the United States, Japan, Europe and elsewhere. Luhe papaya has obtained geographical indication protection product status.
3. Caozhou papaya [Cao County, Heze, Shandong]. It has a history of more than 500 years in Heze and is a traditional cultivated tree species in Heze. Heze was called Caozhou in ancient times, hence papaya is also called Caozhou papaya or Caozhou smooth-skinned papaya.
4. Baihe papaya [Baihe County, Ankang, Shaanxi]. A Chinese national geographical indication product, Baihe County is one of China's largest production bases for smooth-skinned papaya.
5. Bajiao papaya [Yilong, Nanchong, Sichuan]
6. Heze papaya [Cao County, Heze, Shandong]
7. Yun County white-flowered papaya [Yun County, Lincang, Yunnan]
8. Zheng'an wild papaya [Zheng'an County, Zunyi, Guizhou]. In 1996, Zheng'an County was rated as the “Home of Wild Papaya” by units including the Development Research Center of the State Council.
9. Ziqiu papaya [Changyang, Yichang City, Hubei]. The well-known “Ziqiu wrinkled-skin papaya” of Changyang Tujia Autonomous County has a very long planting history and was already renowned during the Qing Dynasty. The “Chinese Ziqiu papaya” recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia is the “Ziqiu wrinkled-skin papaya” of Changyang.