Papaya fruit is high in antioxidants
These lovely pear shaped fruits are available in most supermarkets but how do you eat a papaya and why should you?
My photo is of a papaya cut open down the middle revealing a load of little black shiny seeds. A ripe fruit needs to be soft-ish to the touch, definitely not hard. When ready to eat it will be an orange-y colour on the outside and yield under pressure. Inside the startling deep orange flesh will be juicy, sweet and as soft as a just ripe banana.
The fruits, which come from Central America, are very easy to eat. Slice in half remove and discard the seeds (which are edible but an acquired taste!) and peel. That’s it. No cooking or fuss. From there you can chop into a fruit salad, eat on it’s own, mix with leaves and peppers or use in a number of other savoury or sweet dishes.
Papaya is a high antioxidant fruit with whopping levels of vitamin C and respectable amounts of vitamin A. Very good quantities of folate, potassium and dietary fibre which makes this a heart friendly fruit.
Best of all, it is delicious!