I started thinking about getting paw paw and i don’t know which variety to get, i reasercjed on ther forums and got even more confused since everyone likes different varieties.
For me, I would like one with strong banana, vanilla and crème brûlée. I was thinking about shenandoah for this but i heard it’s really bland, and I do want to actually taste flavours when eating fruits, but maybe you don’t think it’s that bland and it’s fine (if this is what you think please tell me)
And for the second one, I want a really tropical one, that tastes like mango, pineapple or even coconut.
It is really important the the two varieties you will recommend can pollinate eachother if they are the only one in the backyard.
As for texture, I am looking for a really mushy either custardy texture either exactly like banan puree
I don’t want to go risky and get varieties with aftertaste, so please try to avoid those.
Some people may say Shenandoah is bland, but it is more in line with “custard” flavors. It’s like how some people may say plain vanilla pudding is bland, even if it’s very good and flavorful. It’s just the flavor is simple and more like a homemade egg custard. The texture isn’t mushy when I’ve had them, but if you let them get brown enough they likely will.
The two I’ve read that are often juxtaposed are Shenandoah and Susquehanna. The only ones I’ve tried are wild and ones that lacked any fruity notes
If you can, find some fruit to try, though that may be very hard in Romania.
There’s the option to graft the pawpaws you decide to buy in the future too- so even if it takes 5-7 years to fruit, you can graft scions of different varieties too.
I’m going to assume you haven’t tried pawpaws before.
Pawpaws taste like……pawpaws.
There are hints of other flavors in the profiles, but you’re probably not going to find one that “strongly” tastes like banana.
I’d definitely recommend searching out some fruit this fall to try before jumping in on trees. But even if you end up hating the taste, they make good ornamental trees and someone there will enjoy the fruit.
Some animals love them - raccoons, squirrels, groundhogs, opossums.
Most other animals ignore them.
Yes I think the unique flavor (compared to what most Americans are used to) is too much for some people. Even if you love the flavor, most folks I think it’s safe to say wouldn’t just gorge on them like you would berries or peaches etc. They’re too rich.