Papaya. There is great discussion about the difference between papaya and paw paw or papaw. Essentially, they are all the same thing. It just depends where you are. The size of a large avocado, it has soft-textured, fragrant, apricot-coloured flesh with small black seeds which must be stripped out. It is a great breakfast fruit. It should be cut lengthways as this facilitates the removal of the seeds. If you have an unripe papaya which you wish to ripen overnight, pierce it with a sharp knife several times. In Thailand it is available for most of the year but is at its best in the hot season from March to June. It is often shredded before it ripens, mixed with lemon juice, chillis, peanuts and dried shrimp to create som tam, a spicy salad.
