Pawpaws are very odd trees. They look very tropical with their big leaves. The fruit have a wildly attractive scent, but are plain looking, very delicate, and highly variable in size. Fruit size varies with the number of seed set inside. The littlest pawpaw in the photograph below probably has a couple of seeds inside, while the biggest probably has a couple of dozen—and they are big seeds.
They are just starting to ripen. I caught a whiff when I stepped out with my coffee, so I took a good look at the tasty tree this morning—I have two trees—one has tasty fruit, but the other does not. I found about a half dozen pawpaws ready to literally fall into my hands. The pawpaws that get some sun do color up slightly, but the ones in the shade stay green, making scent the clue to ripeness.
I ate the one on the left. It had just two seeds. Normally, I scoop the fruit out of the skin, but this one was so small that I decided to peel it. The skin is very bitter.
I will be keeping a very sharp eye on this tree. Its mate has much smaller pawpaws that never loose their bitter edge, so it’s for the critters.
I cook and freeze the pulp, without sweetening it. It’s a nice spread just like that, but the pulp can also be used in many recipes.
More on pawpaws
The University of Kentucky’s Pawpaw Program They have all sorts of information, including recipes.