Pawpaw is the super-yummy native fruit most people have never heard of. It is the largest fruit native to North America and grows abundantly in midwestern forests. It’s the only fruit in its family that grows in our temperate climate. The rest, like the custard apple, are tropical. And the best, most delicious way to enjoy pawpaw is Pawpaw Ice Cream.
For years my mom, an expert on wild edible foods, has been telling me about pawpaws. I knew them only as a host to the beautiful Zebra Swallowtail butterfly but had never really considered cooking with them. Honestly, their unimpressive appearance and unconventional texture had kept me at arms length.
But on a visit to her garden this weekend, which is practically a paradise of native foods and heirloom vegetables, she was preparing pawpaw ice cream and was nice enough to let me help. The result was heavenly. The pawpaw tastes like a mash-up of banana, mango and cantaloupe. It’s custard-like texture is a natural match for ice cream. It’s a perfect harvest-time treat on a hot Indian Summer day.
If you are not able to forage any pawpaws or plant your own tree, farmer’s markets are a good place to start, as foraged foods are growing in popularity. Look for pawpaws that are ever-so-slightly golden and have softened. You’ll need 8-10 good-sized pawpaws to make a batch of ice cream. The best way to separate the skins and seeds from the pulp is to slice into disks then remove the skins and seeds from each slice. There’s a helpful video here in case you’re a visual learner like me. Or a slow learner, also like me.
There’s a wonderful book about pawpaws, the eponymous Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit
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More Wild Edible Plants Recipes From Bakers Brigade:
| Servings |
cups
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- 8-10 Pawpaws skins and seeds removed to yield 2 cups of pulp
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups Whole milk
Ingredients
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- In the bowl of a food processor, blend the pawpaw pulp and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the milk and cream. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours, up to overnight.
- Turn on your ice cream maker and pour the chilled mixture into the frozen freezer bowl and mix for 20 minutes until thickened. The ice cream will still be soft and creamy. Place in a sealable container and return to freezer for at least 2 hours, or until it is firm enough to serve.
My mom grew up in northwestern Indiana and remembers eating pawpaws as a child. I’d love to try one, and your ice cream sounds delicious!
Yes! I think before our food supply became so industrialized it was common to harvest pawpaws. I hope they make a comeback <3
I made pawpaw ice cream this year for the first time with fruit from our own tree. It is delicious! I love that it has the subtle, undisguised taste of the pawpaw in it. The only difference is that I made it with 1 cup of sugar (as in the recipe in Moore’s book) instead of the 3/4 cups sugar as in your recipe).
this is a terrific recipe! Made it last year and it’s being made this year too. I like that there’s a little less sugar than other recipes. It’s a simple one and let’s the pawpaw flavor shine through
Just made this and it’s absolutely fantastic!
I’m going to try this and let you know how it goes. I have two mature paw paw trees in NW OHIO and 7 saplings.
Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images
on this blog loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
No problems on my end. 🙂
I guess I’ll go to the grave without understanding recipes written like this. “8-10 paw paws.” A paw paw is not a unit of measure, and yours were wildly smaller paw paws than what I foraged yesterday. I got 2 cups of pulp from 3 fruit. Nor are ice cream makers standard. What capacity? A 3-gallon? A 1 quart? Guess your readers can just see whether their churn overflows, or not. Who cares, as long as the ad revenue check clears.
Not sure I understand the hostility here. There are no ads on my site, not today and not when you posted this comment. I share these recipes free of charge because it gives me joy. As for the measurements, if you have 2 cups pulp, 2 cups milk, and 2 cups cream, you will need an ice cream maker that holds at least 6 cups lol. If this recipe is not specific enough for you, feel free to reach out to me with a question or better yet…go find another recipe that is more to your liking 🙂