With proper storage, you can enjoy papayas at the perfect level of ripeness for a few days. However, this only works if you buy or harvest sufficiently pre-ripened fruit.

Recognize the degree of ripeness of a papaya

The combination of color assessment and pressure test directly on the desired fruit offers the perfect test for the exact degree of ripeness of a papaya. You can recognize a sufficiently pre-ripened papaya on the tree by yellow spots or stripes. While a completely green papaya will no longer ripen properly, you can recognize fully ripe fruits by a completely yellowish to slightly reddish outer colour. If the fruit still feels very hard when you press it lightly with your fingers, you should wrap the papaya in newspaper and let it ripen in a warm place for a few more days. As soon as the peel gives slightly when gently pressed, you can eat the papaya or keep it in the fridge for a few more days. However, the temperature during storage should never be below 7 degrees Celsius.

Store the papaya properly

A fully ripe papaya can be kept at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days and in the refrigerator for about a week. If you only want to eat part of a papaya right away, you can cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. The half that is not eaten right away will keep in the fridge for a few days and can be sliced and eaten. When freezing a papaya, it is a good idea to puree the pulp and mix it with a little lemon juice and place it in portions in the freezer.

Be careful when storing it next to other types of fruit

Ripe papayas give off the ripening gas ethylene. They share this property with the following types of fruit:

  • apples
  • tomatoes
  • bananas

Store papayas and these types of fruit separately from fully ripe fruit, otherwise they will not only ripen, but will also spoil faster at room temperature. However, if you want certain types of fruit to continue to ripen, you can also take advantage of this effect.

tips and tricks

The bitter-tasting papaya seeds are often scooped up and thrown away. However, after removing the pulp, they can also be dried and used as a spice such as pepper.

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The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

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