North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[nottke <nottke1@earthlink.net>]

>>Our pawpaws are ripening 2 weeks earlier than usual, and we had our first
>>local pawpaw fruit-tasting almost two weeks ago, comparing Overleese,
>>Sunflower, and a local wild native.
>
>Was there a general consensus on what was better?  Or can you
>let us know what you thought on taste?  How was size on these pawpaws?

Strong concensus that Sunflower had the best flavor, consistency, and
after-taste, followed by the native.  The Overleese were huge, 12 to 16 oz,
but not as flavorful.  We all agreed that if we had not had the Sunflower
and native to taste against, the Overleese would have tasted just fine.
The native fruits were about the size of an elongated apricot, with 2-3
smallish seeds, and came from a tree that had 3 to 5 hands of fruit on
every branch.  The Sunflower were twice that size and contained 3-4 larger
seeds.

BTW yesterday we came across a native tree in Yadkin County NC that had a
dozen fruit still on the tree and the remains of 20 or 30 scattered under
the tree.  We tried a ripe one off the tree, but the pulp had a strong
bitter aftertaste.
The bitterness was instantly vanquished by a piece of dried watermelon.

Jim Nottke
Pfafftown, NC 27040
nottke1@earthlink.net
336-922-2630