Pawpaw vs Papaya: What's the Difference?
Short answer: They're different fruits. The American pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a temperate North American fruit in the custard-apple family, with custardy flesh tasting of banana and mango. The papaya (Carica papaya) is a large tropical fruit with orange flesh and a musky-sweet taste. Confusingly, 'pawpaw' is also a common name for papaya in Australia and parts of Africa.
| 🍈 Pawpaw | 🧡 Papaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Taste | Rich, sweet, and custardy — banana, mango, melon, and vanilla with a faint floral bitterness at the edges. The texture is like thick pudding; the flavor is startlingly tropical for a fruit that grows in temperate forests. | Ripe papaya is buttery and mildly sweet with musky melon notes, lifted dramatically by a squeeze of citrus. Green papaya is neutral, crisp, and absorbs dressings like a champion. |
| Type | Tropical & subtropical | Tropical & subtropical |
| Peak season | Autumn | Year-round |
| Origin | Eastern North America | Southern Mexico and Central America |
| Calories (per 100 g) | 80 | 43 |
| Sugar (per 100 g) | 10 g | 7.8 g |
| Vitamin C (per 100 g) | 18 mg | 60.9 mg |
| Typical price | Premium | Budget |
Few fruit names cause more confusion than these two, and it’s largely a matter of geography. In North America, a pawpaw is Asimina triloba - a fruit of temperate eastern forests, the largest edible fruit native to the continent, and a cousin of the tropical cherimoya in the custard-apple family (Annonaceae). Its greenish flesh is soft and custardy, tasting startlingly tropical (banana, mango, vanilla) for something that grows in cold-winter woodlands.
A papaya is Carica papaya, an entirely unrelated tropical tree fruit from a different family. It’s the big pear- to melon-shaped fruit with smooth skin, salmon-orange flesh, and a central cavity of round black seeds, with a soft, musky-sweet flavour.
The trap is that in Australia and parts of Africa, “pawpaw” is simply the everyday word for papaya. So a recipe or market sign saying “pawpaw” may mean either fruit depending on where you are. If you’re in the temperate US and someone hands you a knobbly green fruit with big brown seeds and pudding-like flesh, that’s the true pawpaw; the tropical orange-fleshed one is papaya wherever you are.
Frequently asked questions
Are pawpaw and papaya the same thing?
Not in North America. There, pawpaw means Asimina triloba, a temperate fruit in the custard-apple family. But in Australia and parts of Africa, 'pawpaw' is a common name for papaya (Carica papaya), which causes endless confusion.
What does an American pawpaw taste like?
Rich and custardy - like a blend of banana, mango, and melon with a vanilla note. Its soft flesh is eaten with a spoon, and it bruises so fast it's almost never sold in shops.
Which is easier to find?
Papaya, by far. It's grown and shipped worldwide. The American pawpaw is highly perishable and mostly found at farmers' markets in season, or foraged.