/pt/ – Petrarchan

Pawpaw, or Asimina triloba, is the largest tree-borne fruit native to the North American continent. Its oblong jade exterior conceals a soft creamy yellow flesh that can be described as an amalgam of flavors similar to mango, cantaloupe, pineapple, banana, and pear, depending on the cultivar. This medley of tastes may be due, in part, to its ancestry. Pawpaw is in the primitive-flowering Annonaceae family, whose members are typically found in tropical regions. Despite this, pawpaw can be found as far north as New York and as far west as Nebraska, thanks in part to its cold hardiness, as well as a natural insecticide in its bark and leaves. Though this description of pawpaw may lead one to believe that pawpaw could be a viable product for commercial production, there are significant limitations resulting from the nature of this fruit. The one most often cited is the fruit's rather short shelf life. The fruit is rapidly climacteric, overripening in a couple of days at room temperature, and this can only be extended to a week when chilled. Additionally, the fruit is easily prone to bruising, which leads to unappealing discoloration. On the cultivation side, the tree's flowers cannot self-pollinate and are protogynous, requiring multiple genetically different trees and days to ensure fertilization. Along with this, they are not visited by bees; instead, they are visited by less efficient flies and beetles. This tends to lead cultivators to rely on hand pollination to ensure maximum yield. After pollination, all the fruit on a tree develops at different rates and does not change color during this time. Strangely, even when a single flower produces multiple fruits, the ripening times differ. The only indicator of readiness is feel, as the fruit softens when ripe, adding further complication to harvest. There have been and continue to be efforts to overcome these limitations. There was a contest held in 1916 by the American Genetics Association to find the largest and best fruit from the species for study. In 1990, a research program was established at Kentucky State University dedicated to studying the tree. In 2022, the USDA began to include pawpaw in the agricultural census. Research articles are frequently published in journals, with the fruit as the focus. Even in the year of our lord, 2026, an article detailing the sequence of its genome was published. The fruit provides many challenges along the road to commercialization that could lead to breakthroughs in the understanding of other fruits. Maybe understanding the mechanisms of pawpaw ripening will lead to a better understanding of how other fruits ripen. Now, while reading journal articles, listening to academic conferences, and perusing the forums of cultivators, I have come to the realization about the food I eat and the culture I live in. The reason I don’t eat pawpaw every year or even knew about pawpaw even a few months ago is due to the market, and thus it is sort of treated as if it doesn’t exist. Going further, I see the food I do at the grocer because it is commercially viable. Meaning, all along the supply chain, the individuals involved in putting that product before me, to pick up and put down and pick up again, gained something from doing so. This may be an elementary epiphany to have, but I find it funny that it only clicked for me recently. At the realization of the effect the market has on me and the choices presented to me, I don’t know how to feel about it. Part of me says, “Well, it works,” and another part of me looks at the pawpaw and says, “But it missed this.” Anyway, that's what I wanted to share, let me know what you think.