8 Tips on Foraging for Paw Paw Fruit

A baby’s first taste

If you haven’t yet, I recommend reading my prior post where I’ve outlined basic info about paw paws and a few ways to track down the elusive fruit in Ohio.

Paw paw fruit grow wild near rivers and streams in the forests of Ohio. They come in season right around Labor Day. However, do your research on where you forage as picking food in a state or city park may not be legal.

8 Foraging Tips

Let your nose guide you. Patches of paw paws have a very distinct aroma. You’ll smell them fermenting in the woods on the ground, giving off a sweet pungent smell. Where there’s a scent, there will be paw paws littering the forest floor nearby.
Once you’ve spotted a patch, you’ll want to pick through the ones on the ground. They should be green and soft to the touch, but not mushy and blackened. The greener, the tastier.
Throw back bug-eaten ones.
Next, when you’ve gone through the ones on the ground, look up in the trees. Shake the tree to dislodge any that are ripe. Watch your head as they fall. The freshly fallen will be the BEST!
Don’t pick them directly from the tree. You don’t want to eat them if they’re not ripe. Unripe paw paws will make you sick. Also, they won’t ripen off the tree. Trust me, I’ve tried! Leave them to ripen in nature.
Bring a cooler if you plan on taking them home. I recommend one that you can leave slightly open, to prevent the paw paws from off-gassing inside the cooler. The gasses make them ripen faster, similar to an avocado.
If you plan on eating them there (which I recommend because they will be the tastiest!), bring paper towels, a knife, and a cutting mat.
Enjoy!! I recommend eating ASAP. After they fall, they especially darken and bruise in the spot they hit the ground.

A patch of paw paws freshly fallen on the ground

A friend’s successful harvest using these 8 tips (Photo credit: Natsuko Dyer)

Peeling and processing back at home

The color of a tasty paw paw

8 Foraging Tips

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