WSJ has a great food find – Pawpaws – a colonial fruit staple that’s becoming an Appalachian dessert craze.
If Roald Dahl had been given the chance to name a family of fruit-bearing trees, undoubtedly it would be the Annonaceae. In other words, the genus in this family have been labeled with some unique monikers. Members include the Ylang Ylang, the Soursop, the Sweetsop, and the Pawpaw. Of these family members, the pawpaw is the only native to North America–namely the East Coast and Appalachia–and has been called everything from the redneck banana to the custard fruit. It’s slightly larger in dimensions than a banana and noticeably heavier. (A mature pawpaw tips the scale at around one pound.) The flavor is often compared to a mix of mangos and apples. The texture is creamy, like custard. – From WSJ