Making PawPaw Jelly

Pawpaw fruit hiding in the trees.

Once we correctly identified the mystery fruit as the edible pawpaw we knew we had to return for more. The next morning Chris and I met my dad at Kill Creek Park where we unloaded the dogs and took off in search of more pawpaws. We carried little Trudy across the rushing creek as the other dogs bound easily across. We once again let our noses sniff the way to the enticing pawpaw patch. 

Most of the ripe pawpaws had fallen off the small, shade loving trees. They all landed, somewhat bruised, among piles of fallen leaves. Some pawpaws, however, had managed to cling on for a while longer, and for those we stretched and jumped or shook the trees violently to make them fall to the ground. After we had a full bag of the green, mango tasting fruit we called for the dogs and trekked back to the cars. We ran into an elderly couple who curiously inquired about our nearly bursting, dripping bags. We explained to them that we were foraging these fruits for jelly and they smiled nervously, not sure if they should view us as adventurous foodies or scavenging beggars...we probably looked more like the latter.

A full bag of foraged pawpaws.

In our excitement about pawpaw's we learned that the fruit is native to Eastern North America and migrated as far west as Kansas and Texas thanks to the American Indians. The pawpaw tree grows to be 12 to 20 feet tall and prefers filtered sunlight. The pawpaws we found were small trees, all clustered together in a shady patch. Pawpaw trees are relatively disease resistant and have a natural resistance to Oak Root Fungus. Bees, for some reason, are not attracted to pawpaw flowers which leaves pollinating to less enthusiastic creatures and the wind. Commercial growers of pawpaws have to hand pollinate. The pawpaw is the largest native fruit of North America.

Chris removing the pawpaw skins.

The fruit looks and smells like a mango but has a custardy consistency. In fact it even belongs to the tropical custard apple family.The flavor is very strong and when I eat my pawpaw jelly on toast I spread it fairly thin. The pawpaw is rich in vitamins A and C as well as the minerals magnesium, zinc, iron, copper and manganese. The pawpaw fruit is also good for the skin, and when blended with yogurt and applied topically it treats both acne and cellulite.

Back at the house we pulled up this recipe for Pawpaw Jam and went to town. We had a great time  getting our hands all sticky with pawpaw juice and laughing about the shocked couple from the woods. We loved the excitement of stumbling across a mystery fruit in the land we all thought we knew so well and then returning to forage and store it for a later time. I now feel as though I have a deeper connection to those woods and will remember from here on out that the end of September is pawpaw season. I'm inspired to learn what else grows around here, and it's season, for future foraging expeditions. 

We swirled in cloves, allspice, cinnamon and ginger.

Pawpaw Jelly

Ingredients

• You need about 4 pounds of fresh paw paws peeled and seeded OR 6 cups of Paw Paw Puree (I used a puree)
• ¾ cup of apple cider Vinegar
• ½ cup of water
• 1/3 cup of Bourbon (optional but gives a wonderful background) 
• 5 cups of Pure Cane Sugar
• 1 cup of brown sugar (dark if you have it)
• 1 teaspoon ground Cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground Allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground Ginger
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon (I think this was a little heavy….add cinnamon to taste)
• 6 oz of liquid pectin

Method

1. Start water bath canner boiling.

2. Sterilize jars, lids and rings.

3. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and place jars in position.

This "jar lifter" was our favorite tool.
It allowed us to drop the jars into
the water bath without getting burned
or splashed.

4. In a heavy saucepan, add paw paws and water. Bring to a slow boil, being watchful not to scorch.

5. Bring down to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

6. You could strain mixture at this juncture. I did not.

7. Add cider, bourbon and sugars at this point. (You might like to add a touch of vanilla too) Return to heat, simmering for about 30 minutes. If after adding all ingredients the mix seems too thick, add a little more water…not much.

8. Stir frequently.

9. The mixture will change appearance and become thick. If you place a metal spoon in the mix, pull it out and it “sheets” I think it is ready. My friend Leslie suggests that for really thick jam use the spoon test…running your finger down back of spoon. If the mix stays separated it is done.

10. Start water simmering for lids and rings if you haven’t already.

11. At this point, the original recipe says to add 6 ounces (1 pack) of liquid pectin. I suspect this is being overly cautious…..but I did include the pectin.

12. Bring up to rolling boil and boil for one minute. Remove from heat.

13. Fill jars leaving about 1/4 inch headspace from the rim. Wipe rims and edges making sure there is no jam to prohibit a good seal.
Add lids and place rings on finger tight.

14. Place in a water bath canner. Bring canner back up to boil and process 10 minutes.

Remove jars, placing in an area free from drafts. Leave overnight, giving jars time to seal.
Check lids for proper seal. Any unsealed jars can be reprocessed, or refrigerated for immediate use.
Store in a cool place, out of direct sunlight.

Makes about 10 Jelly Jars (8 ounces)

The finished product! We had extra pawpaws and ended up
with 12 jars! All the more for gifts.

Foraging for Pawpaws

My family reunion took place in mid September at my Grandma and Grandpa's farm in Gardner, KS. I caught up with family that I hadn't seen in years, cheered on the Jayhhawks as they played K-State and scarfed down baked beans and potato salad while enjoying the crisp, autumn weather. After a few more games of volleyball with my cousins and a few more hugs from my family, Chris and I decided it was time for a bike ride.

Pawpaws grow in clusters on small, shade loving trees

Chris, my dad and I plus our four-legged friends Rudy, Trudy and Stella, headed down to the new Kill Creek biking/walking trail that runs near my dad's house. My dad was excited to show us a new mountain biking trail that he had discovered. We  had only taken a few sharp turns and crossed a small creek when our noses urged us to stop and look around. No, it wasn't a skunk, wild onions or even sweet flowers....this smell was completely new to all of us, and delicious. The smell was fruity and ripe, as though someone was holding a fresh mango right under our noses.

After a little bit of poking around we noticed small, potato like fruits with light green skin that had fallen from small trees growing in the shade of the forest. Chris immediately took a bite and in response had me yelling "No! It might be poisonous!!!" He wiped his mouth and grinned, "They're pretty good!"

We were all three enchanted with the idea that there could be an edible fruit growing so near our home that we had never heard of or seen before. My dad has lived in the area his entire life and as an avid jogger he frequently stumbles across wildlife and flowers, but never these sweet, green fruits. We were determined to get to the bottom of this wild food mystery.

I walked the now bruised fruit over to my grandparent's house wrapped in a leaf for better identification. None of my older family members who had grown up in the area knew what the plant was either. As I turned to leave (and consult all-knowing Google) my Grandma had some final words of wisdom.

"I remember a song my mom used to sing when I was little, it went something like this..'Picking up Paw-Paws put 'em in your pockets, Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.'  Maybe what you found are paw-paws." I thanked my grandma for the clue and headed back to my dad's to solve the mystery once and for all.

At this point, Chris still hadn't dropped dead from eating the fruit so we knew it wasn't poisonous and we had a lead search term, "pawpaws."

After a little research we verified that yes, our wild fruit discovery was in fact a pawpaw. We decided that over the course of the next week we would look into the health benefits of this native, wild fruit and collect a bag of them to make jelly.