Not quite sure where Ron got his pawpaw obsession but he has been researching and talking about them for a year now. He wasn’t a Girl Scout, so he didn’t sing Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch around the campfire. But he knew that line. For those who don’t know they are the largest edible fruit that is native to the US. They look somewhat like a mango and have large black seeds. They don’t travel well as they bruise easily which is one of the reason that they are not as common now. Lewis and Clark ate them during their expedition and George Washington ate them chilled. They are used in baked desserts, in drinks, in ice cream and now some are making beer and wine out of pawpaws. Ron is also interesting in planting them as they are considered a threatened species in New York.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba
I had never tasted a pawpaw until we attended the 2015 Mother Earth News Pair in September. Andrew Moore who wrote the book – Pawpaw, in search of America’s forgotten fruit was one of the speakers. Not only did he give a great talk about the pawpaw but he had samples for us. I can confirm that they are custard like and have a tropical taste. I was most impressed and now on board with Ron’s plan. This one at least. One thing we did find out that that more research is needed. There are numerous varieties available and we have to have at least two different ones growing in our little patch. Surprisingly there are not a lot of nurseries here in NY that sell pawpaws. Right now he is trying to contact a company out in MO. We shall see.
Ron decided where he wanted to plant them and bought wooden stakes and marking paint. While he and Jo used the measuring tapes to lay out the grid, I kept busy digging up and moving rocks. Part of our gym membership plan.
Not as easy as it looks. They got 30 of the stakes pounded in and then discovered they were way off in their final measurements. Ron likes to have straight rows, cause we all know that nature grows in straight lines. Some serious double checking took place.
The end result looks pretty good. You can just make out our straw covered garlic patch in the background.
Not a bad effort for a few hours work by one person. If only I had a friend or two nearby who could come out and help me. Maybe next spring.
Any planned work out on THF now depends on the weather. Ron is so not a fan of getting work done on windy days. We had been talking about ordering some frozen pawpaw pulp from a company in Ohio and trying to make something with it. Ice cream was at the top of the list, if we could find someone to loan us their ice cream maker. Ron discovered Cornell University in Ithaca, NY’s Facebook page and learned that they actually grow and sell pawpaws in their store. We were too late to get any fresh ones but among their ice creams flavors is pawpaw. While it is a 2 hour drive from our house, we decided as rain was forecast and we really needed to know if pawpaw ice cream was any good, the trip was on for Saturday Nov. 7. We arrived at Cornell Orchards on Dyrden St in Ithaca at 8:25 am. Have I mentioned that we are early risers? There in the cooler was our target. Pints of ice cream.
As we looked around to see what else they had for sale, we were greeted by one of the staff. Sadly we did not get her name but she was a delight, giving us a tour of their apple cooler and offering samples. If not for the cold, I could live in their cooler. The smell of the apples was wonderful. Just made me happy. She was fascinated with Ron’s plans to grow pawpaws and she chatted with us in between helping other customers. We bought 6 pints, shook her hand and headed out to the Transit. We packed the pints in our cooler with ice and headed for our next stop. My efforts to make the long trip more worthwhile were probably not the best idea with ice cream in the back. By the time we got home, it was not quite as frozen as it should be. We got it into our freezer and planned to sample it the next day. It was obvious that the texture had suffered a bit from the re-freezing but the flavor had not. It was quite good. There were small chunks of pawpaw throughout and while Ron really enjoyed them, I would like to try another ice cream that just used creamy pulp. There is still so much we have to try and learn before Tiny House Farm can be a success. It is a good thing that both Ron and I are up to the challenge.