Whether you’re making a fruit salad, incorporating papaya into a recipe, or just enjoying fresh papaya, knowing how to cut it will make preparation and eating easier.
A papaya is a tropical fruit native to Central America and Southern Mexico but is now grown throughout the world. It has a sweet taste and buttery texture when ripe.
Peeling
Papayas are a popular tropical fruit and are great for breakfast, desserts, and salads. They are a good source of vitamins A and C and contain a powerful digestive enzyme, papain.
They can be found in most supermarkets during the summer and fall. Look for ripe papayas that are firm to the touch, feel heavy for their size, and have smooth skin without blemishes.
You’ll want to wash the papaya before cutting it. This will remove any dirt and bacteria that may have gotten onto the flesh when you bought it.
Next, cut it in half lengthwise using a sharp knife. This will help prevent you from losing large chunks of papaya.
After halving the papaya, scoop out all the black seeds with a spoon. You can then cut the halves into thin wedges or cubes. This is a good way to use the flesh and create a colorful fruit platter. You can also add sliced papaya to a fresh fruit salad.
Slicing
When preparing papaya, it’s important to cut it properly. Otherwise, you’ll lose a lot of the fruit.
Slicing papaya is a simple process that requires only a few steps. The first step is to cut the papaya in half lengthwise with a sharp knife.
The next step is to remove the skin with a vegetable peeler or a knife. You can also use a chef’s knife for larger papayas.
After removing the skin, rinse the fruit thoroughly under cool running water to remove any dust or dirt from the surface of the flesh. Then, pat the fruit dry with a clean paper towel.
Using a large cutting board, slice the papaya in half lengthwise. This step makes it easier to serve the fruit as a part of a healthy smoothie bowl or salad.
Cubing
Whether you’re making a scrumptious papaya salad or adding it to a burger, this anti-aging and antioxidant-rich fruit needs to be cut properly. Fortunately, it’s not hard to learn how to cut a papaya effectively.
The best way to cut a papaya is to hold it vertically and run your knife down along the skin in long slices. This technique helps prevent slicing it too deeply, which can result in losing a lot of the fruit.
After you’ve sliced your papaya, remove the black seeds from each half and discard them. They’re edible, but have a peppery flavor that’s more like black peppercorns than they are like melon seeds.
Once you’ve removed the seeds, peel off the papaya skin using a vegetable peeler or a paring knife. You can then cut the flesh however you want — into wedges or cubes. These make a tasty snack on their own, or you can mix them with other fruit to form julienne strips for a papaya salad.
Serving
Papaya is a tropical fruit that’s often served as an accompaniment to other dishes, but it’s also an ideal dessert. These sweet and tangy treats are easy to prepare at home, with a few simple steps.
Ripe papayas have orange skin, a soft and fragrant smell, and smooth, tender flesh. They are also not too soft or mushy when touched, and are free of dark bruising.
You can eat papaya raw or cooked in soups, stews, stir-fries and other preparations. It has a slightly acidic, mildly tangy flavor and is a good source of vitamin C.
You can serve a papaya cut into slices, cubes or balls and topped with a squeeze of lime. The tanginess of papaya also works well with plain yogurt and can be eaten in breakfast bowls or incorporated into smoothies.