Pawpaws, like bananas, take well to baking. Here, pawpaw flesh replaces mashed banana in a favorite banana bread recipe, and the result is heavenly: moist and fruity, tasting better with each passing day!

Loaf pans filled with pawpaw quick bread. - 1

I learned about pawpaws from Sam Consylman, one of the farmers at the Livengood Family Farm stand at the South and Passyunk Farmers’ Market, just a few blocks from my apartment in South Philadelphia. Pawpaws are a fruit indigenous to North America, known for their tropical flavor and creamy texture.

One sunny September morning in 2007, Sam and I spent the day in the Susquehannock State Park in Lancaster foraging for pawpaws. We shook trees, dodged snakes, avoided groundhog holes, and tucked into this unknown fruit, tasting almost like a cross between a mango and a banana. Learning about and hunting for pawpaws was memorable to say the least.

It turns out that pawpaw flesh, like bananas and apple sauce, takes well to baking. I made pawpaw cookies first, which were good but cake-like, and so, I experimented with a quick bread, replacing the banana in my mother’s delectable banana bread recipe with the same amount of pawpaw flesh.

Success! Moist and fruity, this pawpaw quick bread tastes better and better with each passing day. When pawpaw season is over, use bananas instead. When baked in small loaf pans, the bread makes a nice gift, too.

Foraging for Pawpaws

First, we hopped the fence.

A no trespassing time. - 2

Next, guided by Sam Consylman, we identified the leaves, then…

A farmer next to a pawpaw tree. - 3

… we looked up to spot the fruit.

Pawpaws hanging from a tree. - 4

Using a handy gadget, we extracted the fruit from the leaves, being careful not to bruise it.

Pawpaws hanging from a tree with a fruit grabber pulling them down. - 5

Ta-da!

Sam Consylman holding a pawpaw. - 6

Sam is such a joy.

Sam Consylman holding four pawpaws. - 7

And pawpaw fruit is delicious: creamy, fruity, tropical tasting:

Sam Consylman squeezing the flesh from a pawpaw. - 8 A bundle of pawpaws on a table. - 9

Sam has won prizes for his foraged pawpaws!

Sam Consylman holding a bundle of pawpaws. - 10 Sam Consylman holding a bundle of pawpaws. - 11 A pile of pawpaws. - 12 A bucket of pawpaws. - 13 Sam Consylman holding a bundle of pawpaws. - 14 Freshly baked pawpaw quick bread. - 15

Description

Pawpaws, like bananas, take well to baking. Here, pawpaw flesh replaces mashed banana in a favorite banana bread recipe, and the result is heavenly: moist and fruity, tasting better with each passing day!

  • butter or spray oil for greasing
  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon table salt
  • 2 scant cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 cups pawpaw pulp*

*An equal amount of mashed ripe bananas can be used in place of pawpaws

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a bundt pan or 2 standard-sized load pans (8 x 11) or 5 mini loaf pans. Set aside.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Add the pawpaw pulp, and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix only until the flour is incorporated — don’t overmix.
  3. Pour batter into prepared pans and place in the oven. (If using mini pans, place them on a sheet pan first.) Bake for 40 to 45 minutes for mini pans or 45 to 60 minutes for the bundt and larger loaf pans. Cake should be brown and should start to leave the sides of the pan.
  4. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Quick Bread
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Pawpaws, like bananas, take well to baking. Here, pawpaw flesh replaces mashed banana in a favorite banana bread recipe, and the result is heavenly: moist and fruity, tasting better with each passing day!

  • butter or spray oil for greasing
  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon table salt
  • 2 scant cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 cups pawpaw pulp*

*An equal amount of mashed ripe bananas can be used in place of pawpaws

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a bundt pan or 2 standard-sized load pans (8 x 11) or 5 mini loaf pans. Set aside.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Add the pawpaw pulp, and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix only until the flour is incorporated — don’t overmix.
  3. Pour batter into prepared pans and place in the oven. (If using mini pans, place them on a sheet pan first.) Bake for 40 to 45 minutes for mini pans or 45 to 60 minutes for the bundt and larger loaf pans. Cake should be brown and should start to leave the sides of the pan.
  4. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Quick Bread
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2007/10/11/pawpaws/

A plate of spaghetti. - 16 A plate of spaghetti. - 17

For the past few weeks, I’ve neglected to bring my husband any of his favorite treats when I visit him. No brownies, no cookies, no granola, no power bars, no quick bread — no sweets at all, in fact, for my favorite Marine (who just graduated from The Basic School … yay!). And I hate to admit it, but if ever there were a time when he needed that extra brownie, it’s now.

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Mandy, however, a weight-lifting, football-watching, Gamecocks-cheering fireball from South Carolina, who gave me her spaghetti sauce recipe, I have been able to bring Ben Tupperwares filled with pasta and meat sauce. Mandy makes this recipe in bulk for a number of reasons: For one, with a six-month old running around — almost running around — she has little time to make dinner every night. Second, she doesn’t love to cook (although she’s a culinary whiz), so having this sauce on hand minimizes the time she spends in the kitchen. And lastly, she has to feed not only herself and baby every night, but also her professional-powerlifter husband, John. (John holds a world record in his weight class for a dead lift and squat combination score.)

This recipe yields two quarts of sauce and freezes beatifully. For one pound of pasta — spaghetti, macaroni, shells or any other pasta variety — one quart of sauce works perfectly. With tons of fresh basil and a few shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, this spaghetti makes a wonderful dinner. Thanks Mandy!

Super Moist Pawpaw Quick Bread - 18 Super Moist Pawpaw Quick Bread - 19

Mandy’s Spaghetti Sauce Yield = 2 quarts

2 teaspoons olive oil 2 lbs. ground beef 1 large onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon table salt

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the meat and brown, stirring occasionally. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic, and sauté until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, 1 cup water, and seasonings. Simmer for 30 minutes. Taste, add more salt or sugar if necessary, and serve over pasta immediately, or let cool until ready to serve.

Note: This sauce will keep for several days in the refrigerator or indefinitely in the freezer. For a simple healthy meal, cook whole-wheat spaghetti, add lots of chopped fresh basil and a few shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano.