I had a vague memory of tasting Paw Paw fruit when we lived in Indiana for a bit. I thought it was too uniformly sweet for my taste, and truth be told, I didn't like the texture much. (a lot like banana)
About 10 years ago, my daughter Ariel planted two Paw Paw trees in her backyard in Portland, Oregon, USA. (I need to say USA because a great many people who read my blog are from many other countries)
The trees offer great shade because of the soft wide leaves allow mottled sunlight to come through. Each year, the trees have borne more fruit. This year was a bumper crop. No shit, the fruit is clomping to the ground as I sit in the yard.
So, it is kind of a novelty fruit for us, not being southerners and I can't say my feelings have changed much, but something else has happened. The last few years Ariel gave away some to neighbors who were interested. It turns out that they made a kind of brandy from the fruit. They brought her a bottle. Nice. This year they also brought someone from a local brewery to collect huge baskets of the fruit. They are experimenting with making hard cider from the Paw Paws. Amazing and they promise to show up with some bottles when they are ready. And yesterday an other neighbor who took some, brought us Paw Paw pie.
I just like this whole progression. Although she lives in a city, Ariel has made a neighborhood that reminds me of real rural life. Yes, she has good crops of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and pears this year. But she has a family that is happy to eat all those fruits. The Paw Paws have brought a different gift.
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