Is There a More Disappointing Fruit Than Papaya
Prior to a year ago I would happily dismissed papaya as some exotic fruit found in far away places that probably has its merits and its fans but which I was hardly going to go out of my way to try. That all changed when I found myself in these far away places and came face to face with this inoffensive yet arrogant fruit.
Trying Papaya for the First time The first time I tried papaya, in fact I’m sure it was the first couple of times I tried it, I didn’t know I was eating papaya. I’d never seen one before, much less had I ever tasted one. I was in Nepal and I went to check out this cool smoothie bar in Thamel that I’d heard good things about it. Having a fit of indecisiveness which disabled my abiity to choose between mango or berry, I thought I’d get the best of all worlds and order and mixed fruit shake. This duly arrived, ice cold, and as I put the straw to my lips and sucked up my first mouthful the first thing I noticed was sickly sweet scent that had shot up my nostrils. I couldn’t place it so I sloshed the mixture around my mouth in order to pick out the flavours. Banana was in there. Mango was definitely there, as was a hint of pineapple. But there was something else too, something I couldn’t put my finger on. I managed to finish the drink as the other ingredients meant that this mysterious element cast no more than a minor blemish on an otherwise delicious shake. On my way out, I asked the guy what was in it. I had been correct in guessing the appearance of banana, pineapple and mango but I was surprised to learn that the unidentified saboteur was papaya. A few weeks later I ordered fruit and yoghurt for breakfast. I think this time I was in Vietnam. I looked at the bowl and my eyes picked out banana, apple, pineapple and mango. Great! Except the mango tasted vile. I’d still never seen papaya flesh but I guessed straight away that these orange lumps of flesh in my bowl were the rancid flesh of a papaya. And so began my hatred of papaya Everywhere I travelled after that I saw papaya everywhere. I always asked waiters to ensure that there was no papaya in my fruit salad and no papaya in my smoothie, expressly telling anyone and everyone to under no circumstances let papaya come anywhere near me. However, sometime I just either forgot to mention it or just sat back and took it as it comes. You get what you pay for Whilst travelling in South America, in an effort to keep costs down we would try and stay at hostels that included a free breakfast. I’d always get a little excited to discover that the breakfast also included fresh fruit juice / shake only to be bitterly disappointed to find that it was, of course, papaya. And the fresh fruit and yoghurt included in some breakfasts? Yep, why couldn’t they just spare me the disappointment and called it what it really was: papaya and yoghurt! And then, eating out, we’d veer towards places offering a menu of the day: starter, main and desert (postre) for the equivalent of a couple of dollars. Starter: yum yum, soup of the day. Main: ooh grilled fish, rice and salad. And what simple yet delicious delights do we have for desert? You guessed it. So who actually likes papaya?http://www.amazines.com/article_detail_new.cfm/5559188?articleid=5559188
