Everything you ever wanted
to know about red papayas

How does Ruby Rise Red Papaya grow? How do you pick and prepare the perfect red papaya that's ready to eat? And what’s the difference between a red papaya and a yellow pawpaw anyway? The answers are all down below.

• Originally hailing from Central America, red papayas are a pretty unique tree in that they produce fruit every month of the year (starting about 10 months after planting). Happily, this means they’re always ‘in season’.
   
• We pot and raise red papaya seeds in a greenhouse before they’re planted out in the Far North Queensland sunshine. Each tree produces fruit for about 18 months before we cut it down and restart the process. The main reason being if red papayas grow too tall they’re too hard to pick!

• Red papayas grow in ‘columns of fruit’ around each tree trunk. Twice a week we pick one or two red papayas by hand. We take extreme care to only pick fruit at the perfect stage of maturity (mainly green with a tinge of yellow!) that way they’re sure to ripen with a beautiful sweet flavour.
   
• The freshly picked red papaya are given a cold water bath before being carefully checked by hand for any blemishes or damage. Once they pass our thorough quality checks, they’re organised by size and shape, then wrapped in soft netting and tissue paper to protect them on their journey to market. 

How to choose
the best RED PAPAYA

Your best indicator of ripeness and sweetness is your red papaya’s skin colour. The skin of red papayas vary from green to a golden yellow and will continue to ripen once picked. The yellower the skin, the sweeter the taste!

Red papayas ripen best outside the fridge. Once they have a golden yellow skin colour feel free to pop them in the fridge for up to 4 days.

stages of
ripeness

If the skin is mostly green with a slight yellow
Keep it at room temperature and give it 3-4 days to fully ripen.
If the skin is mostly yellow with a slight green
Eat it now if you like a firmer consistency, or keep at room temperature and allow to ripen for 2 days if you prefer a sweeter and creamier flesh.
When the skin is completely golden yellow
It’s perfect to be enjoyed right now – or you can store it for up to 4 days in the fridge. 

Preparing your Ruby Rise 

It's super easy to unlock the tasty, goodness of your Ruby Rise Red Papaya
and have it ready to eat in no time!

1. Cut your Ruby Rise in half length ways.

2. Remove the seeds using a spoon.

3. Lay the halves flat and cut off both ends.

4. Stand your Ruby Rise on the flat end you've just created and peel carefully with a knife. Repeat for the other half.

5. Lay your Ruby Rise flat and slice (perfect for a platter) or dice (perfect for a delicious breakfast).

6. Serve and enjoy! For a little extra zest, squeeze lime juice over the top!

What’s the difference anyway?

Their names might be pretty similar but your tastebuds will thank you for knowing the difference. Ruby Rise Red Papaya are oval shaped, have juicy red flesh and a delicious sweet tropical scent and flavour. Pawpaw’s are far less sweet, have a yellower flesh and are rounder in shape.

Red Papaya

Pawpaw