Bang Khonthi, Samut Songkhram
Papaya
Crunchy when green, sweet when ripe
A fruit with two personalities: crunchy green papaya for som tam and sour curry, and soft, sweet flesh when ripe. Grown the organic way, with no chemicals.
Get to know Papaya
Papaya has come a long way. It's native to tropical America, and Spanish explorers brought it to Southeast Asia around the 16th century. Today it's a Thai kitchen favourite.
Green papaya is white and crunchy inside, the star of som tam Thai and sour curry with green papaya. Ripe papaya turns yellow-orange outside with soft, sweet orange flesh: lovely chilled, or blended into a papaya coconut-water smoothie.
At Catherine Farm our papayas grow in a diverse, mixed orchard, with no herbicides, no growth accelerators and no chemicals. In regenerative farming, papaya is also a valuable intercrop that enhances biodiversity and protects the soil. Read more about organic, soil-building farming.
Want green papaya for som tam, or ripe ones to snack on? Email us.
Highlights
- Native to tropical America; reached Southeast Asia around the 16th century
- Green fruit is cooked like a vegetable; ripe fruit is eaten as a fruit
- Green papaya goes into many dishes: som tam, sour curry, yellow curry and stir-fried with egg
- The white latex in green papaya contains papain, an enzyme that breaks down protein
- Ripe papaya has orange flesh and is rich in vitamin C
Handy tips
How to choose, store and enjoy Papaya at its best.
How to enjoy
- Peel green papaya, shred it and pound it into som tam
- Cut it into chunks for sour curry or yellow curry
- Halve a ripe one, scoop out the seeds and eat it chilled with a squeeze of lime
- Blend ripe papaya with coconut water into a smoothie
- After peeling green papaya, rinse off the latex before cutting. Wear gloves if your skin is sensitive
How to choose
- For som tam, choose papaya that is green all over, taut-skinned and hard, with no yellow yet
- For eating ripe, choose one that is mostly yellow-orange and gives slightly when pressed gently
- Fruit with a few yellow streaks will ripen at room temperature in a few days
- Avoid fruit with bruises, soft watery spots or a fermented smell
Storage
- Keep green papaya somewhere cool or in the fridge's vegetable drawer, and use it while it's still crunchy
- Store shredded green papaya in a covered box in the fridge and use it up quickly
- Let half-ripe papaya ripen at room temperature first, then move it to the fridge
- Wrap ripe or cut papaya well, keep it in the fridge and eat it within a day or two
Good to know
- Ripe papaya is rich in vitamin C, about 61 mg per 100 g, and also provides folate and fibre (general ripe papaya data from USDA FoodData Central (opens in a new tab))
- The white latex in green papaya contains papain, an enzyme that breaks down protein, which is why it's used to tenderise meat (PROSEA (opens in a new tab))
