People thought, ‘That’s what poor rural people eat.’”īut pawpaws haven’t always had that reputation. “Wild forest foods fell out of favor for a while. In the early part of the 20th century, processed foods were seen as more appealing because they communicated access to refrigeration,” she said. “Another name for the pawpaw is the ‘poor man’s banana’. Plus, she added, pawpaws may have suffered from a stigma attached to wild foods. “So much of fruit and vegetable production in the US is based around being able to store fruit for a long time and ship it long distances,” Crabtree said. How has this enigmatic fruit managed to draw crowds from across the globe when so many Americans have still never even heard of it? Photograph: Jonathan Palmer So how has this enigmatic fruit managed to draw crowds from across the globe when so many Americans have still never even heard of it, much less tasted it?Īccording to Sheri Crabtree, a plant breeder at the nation’s only pawpaw research program at Kentucky State University, pawpaws have kept a low profile in recent decades because they’re almost big agriculture-proof: ripe for only a few days before they spoil, they’re hard to ship and sell, which is why you’ve probably never seen them in grocery stores. “People come from all over the world to this event, from Los Angeles, France, Chile – it’s crazy.” “It was the biggest festival ever,” said Chmiel, who has a pawpaw tattoo on his arm. This September marked its 24th year, with more than 10,000 people coming to taste pawpaw waffles and pawpaw curry, drink pawpaw beer, enjoy pawpaw crafts, hear live music and of course eat the ripe fruit itself. What he didn’t foresee was that decades later, he’d still be hosting a version of the same event, now called the Ohio Pawpaw Festival.
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