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Gold Papayas Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart guide to Gold Papayas
About Gold Papayas
Gold Papayas are a pear-shaped fruit with a vibrant orange and golden flesh. The skin is thin, easily peeled, and the fruit is juicy and sweet. There are several varieties, and the major differences are in size, flavor, and color. The fruit is around 5in wide and sometimes up to 18in long. They're native across the world in all of their variety from Guinea to Australia, but most papayas found in U.S. grocery stores are Gold Papayas grown in Hawaii.
How to pick out Gold Papayas
If you're shopping for papaya, here are some tips for choosing delicious, ripe ones. The skin should be mostly yellow with perhaps some green left, much like a banana. Press your thumb gently into the skin, and it should give slightly. If you can't find a perfectly ripe papaya, put a mostly ripened one in a paper bag with apples or bananas. The ethylene production of these fruits will help the papaya ripen faster.
Preparing, storing, and preserving Gold Papayas
To prepare a Gold Papaya, start with a large, sharp knife, and cut it in half length-wise. It will open to reveal a beautiful bounty of blackish-purple seeds. You can easily remove these by scraping them out with a spoon. The sweet, orange, or golden flesh should surround the seeds.
Most people discard the seeds, but they are edible and have a peppery flavor that lends itself well to dressings or casual snacking. From here, you can get creative. Papaya fans will tell you to eat it directly from the skin with a spoon, or if you're feeling fancy, you can scoop it out with a melon baller.
If you prefer your fruit in slices, flip the papaya over so that it is cut-side down. Take a sharp knife, probably a smaller knife like a paring knife, and carefully peel away the skin. The skin is thin, so no need to go very deep. Now, you can cut the papaya into slices, wedges, or for bite-sized snacking, try cubing it. A squirt of lime juice brightens up the fruit nicely and gives it an extra punch of flavor.
Once it's ripe, time is key to a fresh, sweet papaya. Refrigerating the fruit, either sliced or whole, will keep it fresh for 2-3 days. If it's cut, store it in an airtight container. For a longer shelf life, cut the papaya into cubes, arrange them on a baking sheet, and freeze. Then you can shake the cubes into a freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and toss them into the freezer.
A popular method for preserving Gold Papayas is an Indian papaya preserve. You do this by cubing (or melon balling) your papaya, then canning it with a simple syrup. You use the syrup to create a "hot-pack" canning, and once the jars are sealed, this preserve will keep for several weeks up to a few months. Similarly, papayas make wonderful jams. They also sweeten baked goods, or you could try it in chutneys or salsas for fun dipping sauces.
Gold Papayas Near Me
Buy your favorite Gold Papayas online with Instacart. Order Gold Papayas from local and national retailers near you and enjoy on-demand, contactless delivery or pickup within 2 hours.
FAQs about Gold Papayas
The flavor of a papaya depends largely on its ripeness, but a ripened Gold Papaya will have a creamy texture and sweet flavor. Some people compare their flavor to cantaloupe or mango, though the three are very distinct. It has a milder fruity flavor and pairs well with more acidic fruits in smoothies, like strawberries, blueberries, or blackberries.
Yes! Bakers get creative with Gold Papaya all the time. They make papaya bars, similar to lemon bars, streusel cakes, or for a more straightforward approach, just plain roasted papaya. Desserts like papaya bread or papaya pudding are fun additions to the weekly meal plan. Papayas are also impressive additions to salads, smoothies, and slaws. They're also fun to pair with spice in a honey vinegarette dressing or add a passionate tropical flavor to BBQ sauce on chicken. Try them on pork chops, shrimp wraps with lettuce, or in stir fry, or bake them into pies and muffins for dessert.
Other than the delicious tropical flavor of a Gold Papaya, it's loaded with antioxidants like beta-carotene and lycopene. They're high in fiber and Vitamin C, and medical studies show they have great potential to promote heart health. It can also improve digestion, protect your skin from damage, and even help you stay youthful for longer. This versatile fruit also has anti-cancer properties, anti-inflammatory properties, and they're packed with potassium, folate, Vitamin A, and magnesium.