That makes sense! 
What would you rate as your preferred cultivars @JustPeachy ?
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Shenandoah
Allegheny
Maria’s Joy (I only tried it this year, need a few more chances)
Mango
maybe Atwood (I haven’t tried much of it)
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This sounds like something I want to try. I’ll be in touch with you to get info.
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Thanks that sounds like a great list!!
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Who has tasted KSU Benson? I don’t see it mentioned much. I have a grafted limb of it, not bearing yet. One of my pawpaw books says Benson has some kind of propagation difficulty- maybe low take rate on grafts, or similar.
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I agree - it’s rarely discussed!
I tasted one small sample 5 years ago and it was fine - just a good pawpaw.
My own tree fruited for the first time this summer and they were not very good. Kinda cantaloupe but not sweet enough and a little washed out. However, this is probably due to my local conditions, the health of the tree (seems to have some issues) and the young age.
It had good sized fruit despite a fairly large crop.
Will hope for better flavor in the future.
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If I remember correctly it’s suppose to be Atwood, Chapelle, and then Benson in order of strength of flavor (mildest to strongest).
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I know someone from the one of the facebook groups (not sure if he’s on here) that mentioned that they attended a pawpaw tasting at KSU and got to try around 20 varieties. He said that Susquehanna, Chappelle and Benson were superior to all the others in taste and texture.
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I did have one large scale grower tell me once that Benson was cloyingly sweet. Fits with what you’re saying.
I believe Benson is supposed to be the earliest ripening of the 3?
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I’m pretty sure the order of ripening is reverse from strength of flavor with 3 main KSU varieties if I recall correctly. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong.
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So many pawpaws . . . so little time.
That is an amazing harvest!
@mamuang . . . I’m hoping to be able to offer ‘homegrown’ pomegranates some day - if even just at the end of my driveway! I don’t know anyone who has more than a random backyard tree, in my area. It would be fun to have a little ‘cottage pom industry’.
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I think part of the problem (I am not saying this is the case with you) is that people are not careful enough when processing pulp. Sometimes you will have fruit that has an aborted seed and this may be quite small. Many people never remove this when processing and in some cases may have not even seen it. Leaving any discoloration in the finished product should be a big no no and is likely the reason many have stomach issues when consumed in bread, smoothies etc.
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Hey Derek!
Nice to know you’re out there.
Yes you raise good points. The first time I ever processed pawpaws, I probably fell into the category you described. My whole family got sick that time.
But right - I was super careful this time (many years later). However, a “micro seed” could maybe have been there.
I also recently heard Kirk Pomper say basically the same things you said.
For me the jury is still out on what is truly going on. I’m not convinced that seeds or nicking a seed, or discolored pulp are the only ways you would have issues.
I think there’s still something in the pulp either in some individual fruits (why? Picked too soon?) or that certain folks are just sensitive to some compound (quantity?) in there.
But that’s just my personal opinion, not taking sides.
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I remember making a loaf of pawpaw bread from fruit that a friend brought back from a trip to WV. His brother had shaken the fruit out of the tree and collected it in the woods. Come to find out the fruit was not ripe when he gathered it (hard) but had softened some by the time the fruit was in my hands. The fruit just didnt quite seem right to me but I made the bread anyway since several friends were wanting to try it. Fruit from my trees must have been gone at the time so I made it with the given fruit. Everyone of us got sick from eating that bread and I later learned about the fruit being hard when collected. My experience up to this point with unripened hard fruit is that it never softened but evidently some will.
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Who wants to be the guinea p… I mean brave individual helping to advance our community’s knowledge of pawpaws and test these possible explanations? I volunteer @TrilobaTracker
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Hey now! 
But really some research needs to be done on this.
After this year I am not as keen on sharing pawpaws for this reason. Eating fresh I only had mild upset a couple times. But even that is enough to spook me.
I just on Sunday ran into someone I gave pawpaws to, and my first question was “you didn’t get sick, did you?”
It’s not a total showstopper (I will keep growing them) but it’s one of many quirks with this fruit.
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I think it probably depends on the cultivar and how tree ripe the fruit was before it was picked. Look at the second picture of post 597, see those pawpaw? @IL847 loved them that way and even more brown. That’s a picture the day before I gave her the box. They were even more brown later. She said there were no problems scarfing them down. I think she’s crazy, but she insists they are perfectly fine for her. Ken says some people like them that way.
I made multiple pawpaw bread loafs in August from all the left over pawpaw in the freezer the year before. No one got sick. I don’t taste much pawpaw in the bread myself, but we haven’t had any problems. It was made using pulp that I deskinned and deseeded prior to freezing.
@TrilobaTracker Did you get sick from anything I sent?
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Not really - I plowed thru most of them the afternoon I received ‘em. So it was a lot in a short period, and I maybe had a really minor amount of tummy rumbling.
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Salavatski and suhr anor do quite well in my zone 7b NC climate, I have not had much luck with others, either they are not cold hardy enough or they are not fruitful - likely too much humidity.
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Keep in mind there are those who have allergic reactions to pawpaw just like individuals who cannot eat strawberries, peanuts, etc. Food allergies exist at different levels and I know several who cannot tolerate pawpaw fruit. I know a retired nurse who cannot even touch the fruit without breaking out into a severe rash. She ended up going to the emergency room once just from peeling and pulping the fruit, she was not even eating any! If you feel bad after eating them I suspect you might be mildly allergic. I have heard of people that love the smell and taste of pawpaw and even crave them at times but are still allergic to them.
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