Hillbilly Bananas – IOTW Report

Hillbilly Bananas

Washington Post

Pawpaws are North America’s largest native fruit – and are exceedingly rare, found mainly in the wild across 26 states or in small orchards in Appalachia, where the trees have historically thrived. Praised for their flavor, which is sometimes described as a cross between a mango and banana, the custard-like fruit is an ideal spoonable dessert. You won’t find them in the supermarket – but some plant breeders are trying to change that. More

Before going all Yeehaw for pawpaw I suggest reading the comments for this article first. – Dr. Tar

17 Comments on Hillbilly Bananas

  1. i’ve known about pawpaws since i moved here (wv) in 1979….tim pool knows about pawpaws, since he moved here…it’s strange that the media think only traditional fruits are “acceptable” foods….when the infrastructure breaks down, they won’t be able to feed themselves, except by hunting you down and stealing your provisions and stored foods…..they will have no compunctions about that…be prepared…

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  2. Wait….what!?
    Found in 26 states…….yet, at he same time exceedingly rare?
    Sounds like another article written by hipsters, for hipsters.

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  3. Please tell me this is a joke because I am laughing harder than I do at the Babylon Bee… Read with me:

    Kyle and Mitchell “decided to start an orchard in this town just east of Niagara Falls” –and don’t see the irony in pointing to the challenge of “invasive pests” –as a gay couple homesteading next to the heterosexual honeymoon capital of America.

    The article refers to “an overheating planet,” then notes last year’s “record-breaking spring frost” that prompted “agricultural commissioners in 10 states to ask the federal government for aid.” Of course it did. There is so much to ‘unpack’ in that, but I’ll just quote JD Vance –loudly: MARTHA, DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF?! (I want that quote on a hat!)

    Another NY crop-raising couple, Brandy and Nigel, “planted 20 pawpaw trees two years ago and are now on a wait list to buy more.” It seems they have a “dream of drawing in pick-your-own enthusiasts.” OH EM GEE: The people who want the government to give reparations to the descendants of cotton pickin’ slaves want you to pick your own paw paws AND PAY THEM!

    The article makes grand statements about pawpaws, “the largest edible fruit native to the U.S.” that “is an ideal spoonable dessert.” Get ready for the Garden & Gun farm-to-fork southern chefs to offer yankee tourists 3 mellonball scoops of paw paw drizzled with balsamic glaze and garnished with one mint leaf for $16 to finish off their ‘tasting menus’ of other overpriced and under-portioned local peasant food.

    But facts are facts: “Demand for [paw paw] trees has soared,” thereby “doubling or even tripling the cost over the last several years.”
    So hey, y’all: I think we should market kudzu as a medicinal herb and fund IOTW with the profits…

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  4. I concur with above assessments.

    – “Its rare”: only found in 26 states. Only.

    – “Glow-Bull Warming, eek!” Because nothing says warming climate like early hard frosts. Of course, ‘everybody knows’ the way to address cold weather crop failures is to plant things at or beyond the northern extent of the its native range. Heck, if the crops bring the weather, why aren’t they planting pineapples? Idiots.

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  5. Go to any major river in the mid atlantic states and you will find pawpaw trees along the shoreline. The seeds are transported downstream during floods and then sprout all the way up to the floodline. The trees are obvious because they look out of place due to their large, tropical type leaves.
    There are millions of pawpaw trees along the Potomac river all the way to DC. My family has picked them for generations.
    They do taste like a blend of mango and ripe banana. Their ripening period is very short so you have to be patient to wait until they are ripe and pick ASAP before they fall off the tree and the deer gobble them up.
    The biggest pawpaw fruit I picked was about the size of a potato.

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  6. Michigan has a city named after the fruit, Pawpaw. It’s just west of Kalamazoo. It’s known for the trees/fruit, but I’ve never eaten one. They don’t last long after they are picked.

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  7. Reportedly Geo. Washington’s favorite fruit. We have some and they are good once you get past the big seeds but they come in a row so easy to pick out I guess. N. American papaya

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  8. Indeed, the “Indiana Banana”. My Greatx5 grandfather planted hundreds of pawpaw trees on our family farm. They are quite yummy, just gotta get to them in time, as referenced above. BTW, really smooth moonshine!!!

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