Tips, Tricks and Facts – Australian Papaya

Year-round deliciousness

Papaya Tips, Tricks and Facts

Learn how to pick, store, peel, chill and enjoy this vitamin rich powerhouse fruit all year round.

Red papaya

Bright orange/red flesh

Often pear shaped

Often green/yellow skin

Sweet flavour

Choosing a papaya

Red Papaya is ripe when skin is green/yellow. When ripe, cut fruit should have bright orange/red flesh. Both fruits are ripe when yield to gentle pressure.

Yellow papaw

Distinct yellow flesh

Often rounder and larger

Often pale orange skin

Less sweet flavour

Choosing a papaw

Yellow Papaw is ripe when the skin is yellow/orange. Ripe fruit when cut has bright yellow/orange flesh and black seeds. Both fruits are ripe when yield to gentle pressure.

To ripen fruit store between 20 – 25°C

Once ripe, store fruit in the refrigerator

Fruit that is partially yellow should be left at room temperature and will ripen in a few days. If you want to speed this process, place in a paper bag with a banana.

Ripe fruit should be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within one or two days, so you can enjoy their maximum flavour.

Seasonality and growing

Where does papaya come from?

Papaya and Papaw are available all year round with increased supply during Autumn and Spring.

Where is papaya grown?

Red Papaya and Yellow Papaws are predominately grown in the warmer tropical climates of Far North Queensland areas of Tully, Innisfail to Mossman and Mareeba with new plantings in Lakeland as well as in the Northern Territories and Western Australia.

Year-round deliciousness

Seasonality and growing

Enjoy a taste of the tropics