Book Review

Cooking With Pawpaws

by Snake C. Jones and Desmond R. Layne

Published by Kentucky State University and USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Asimina spp. 1997. 12 pages. Single copies available free from Dr. Desmond R. Layne, 129 Atwood Research Facility, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 40601, or e-mail: [email protected] or, after 6/97: [email protected]
(Price/availability info may have changed since original publication of review.)

Reviewed by Robert and Clytia Chambers (5/1997)

For a 12-page bulletin this is outstanding. It is printed on 8-1/2 by 11" paper, glossy with colored pictures. The information it contains is impressive for (1) quantity and (2) selection. It starts off with a short (one-page) but amazingly informative general description of where the pawpaw grows (26 states in the U.S.), what it looks and tastes like (a blend of tropical flavors), how to pick (tug gently) and store it (a few days at room temperature, up to three weeks if refrigerated). There are detailed tables of food composition, vitamins, minerals and even the content of all the essential amino acids. A table with nutritional information, as well as percentages of daily requirements, compares the pawpaw with banana, apple and orange. A list of all 27 commercially available pawpaw cultivars, with origin, type, and name of selector, fills an entire page.

Almost half the pages are composed of recipes, about five to the page, 25 in all. They have been gathered from a number of contributors and all are on desserts or the like, which would be expected for a fruit. They provide examples of a wide variety of products, including pies, custards, cookies, cakes, breads and muffins, ice cream, pudding, preserves and punch.

We recommend that readers get this bulletin. It is a great example of the kind of data we should be getting on our fruits. CRFG emphasis has mostly been on selecting varieties and how to grow the fruits. But a lot of our fruits end up on the ground or in the trash. Authorities are all urging people to eat more fruit, but evidently it is often not convenient to eat them out of hand. Perhaps we fruit growers should be spending more of our time developing ways of presenting fruit attractively to the public. The recipes in this pamphlet would appear to provide a model for other kinds of fruit.