Wild wineberries have come and gone for the year, as have ramps, morels, wild blueberries, and wild blackberries. But there are a few native foods remaining to be foraged yet this fall, and one of them is the delicious, juicy, Appalachian banana: the Paw Paw.
The largest edible fruit native to North America is the paw paw, and it thrives in the mountain and river country of West Virginia.
And while many of us are already familiar with this tasty fruit, others who have never tried it before are planning to taste it for the first time this fall, thanks to more time spent outside in nature this year than usual. If you've always wanted to learn more about this fruit, or try a taste for yourself, here's what you need to know.
The first signs of this delectable fruit come in early spring, with these dark, bell-like blooms on the trees.
Soon after it blooms, the trees don their leaf-green dress, sporting big, fan-shaped leaves.
If you think the leaves look a bit tropical, you're right: the paw paw is a member of the Annonaceae family, which contains mostly tropical plants.
The paw paw (also written pawpaw, papaw, or paw-paw) fruit is a bulbous, bluish-green fruit that ripens to greenish-yellow.
It can be picked green and allowed to ripen on the counter, or you can wait until the fruit is truly ripe and falls right off the branch when you shake the tree.
Inside, the fruit is a creamy yellow color and tastes a bit like a cross between a banana and a mango.
Perhaps that's how it earned its nickname, the Appalachian Banana.
There are large brown seeds scattered throughout the fruit that are easy to remove as you eat the fruit, and many peel the fruit with a paring or pocket knife before eating.
Paw paws typically ripen in early to mid-September, so keep an eye out for them as you explore. They seem to especially thrive on a river's edge. Are you planning to try paw paws for the first time this year or do you look forward to them each fall? What's your favorite way to eat them?
Oh, and there's even a town in West Virginia named after the Appalachian banana: Paw Paw!
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