On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 736

thecenterandprogressesoutward,andcauses
amanyfoldincreaseincarotenoidpigments
andaromamolecules,aswellasamarked
softening.Softeningcausestheapparent
sweetnesstoincreaseeventhoughtheactual
sugarcontentdoesn’tchange(thesugarsare
morereadilyreleasedfromthesoftened
tissue).Aripepapayaisalow-acidfruitwith
adelicate,floweryaromathankstoterpenes,
andatouchofcabbage-likepungencydueto
thesurprisingpresenceofisothiocyanates(p.
321).Thesecompoundsareespecially
concentratedintheseeds,whichcanbedried
andusedasamildlymustardyseasoning.
Unripe,crispgreenpapayaismadeinto
saladsandpickles.Thegreenfruitcontains
vesselsofmilkylatexrichintheproteindigestingenzymepapain,whichisfoundin
somemeattenderizers.Papainlevelsdrop
duringripening,butcanstillcausetextureand
tasteproblemslikethosecausedbythe
pineappleenzymebromelain(p.384).


Twootherpapayaspeciescanbefoundin
markets.Thelargecool-climatemountain
papaya,C.pubescens,islesssweetthanthe
lowlandpapaya,butricherinpapainandin
carotenoidpigments,oftenincluding
lycopene,whichgivesitsfleshareddish
tinge.Thebabaco,C.pentagona,isapparently
anaturalhybrid,andhascream-colored,tart,

seedlessflesh.
PassionFruit,Granadilla Passion fruits and
the granadilla come from about a dozen
speciesofvinesofthegeneraPassi-flora and
Tacsonia, natives of tropical lowlands and
subtropicalhighlandsinSouthAmerica.They
consist of a brittle (Passi-flora) or soft
(Tacsonia) outer husk, with a mass of hard
seeds embedded in pulpy seed coverings, or
arils.Thearilsaretheonlyedibleportion,and
make up barely a third of the fruit weight.
Though the pulp is sparse, its flavor is
concentrated and actually benefits from