Papaya, Pawpaw

Carioca papaya is the fruit of a woody, herbaceous plant that looks like a tree and is native to tropical America. It is hard and green when unripe, but changes to yellow or orange when ripe, and the fruit vary greatly in size from 6 inches to well over 1 foot. The immature fruit is used as a vegetable in island cooking. Green papaya is also used to make a chutney or relish, and makes a main dish when stuffed. Ripe, it is eaten as a melon, or in fruit salad. It is known as pawpaw in the English-speaking islands, as papaya in most Spanish-speaking islands, with the exception of Cuba where it is called fruta bomba and the Dominican Republic where it is called lechosa. In the French islands it is papaye. Tins of ripe papaya are quite widely available.