How To Eat Papaya Like A Seasoned Professional

Walk through a produce aisle and papayas can look confusing: Some are hard, green, and unyielding, while others glow golden and smell like tropical perfume. The secret is that both are the same fruit, just at different stages of ripeness. Green papaya is simply the unripe version, valued for its crisp bite in savory dishes; while ripe papaya transforms into soft, sweet flesh that you can scoop with a spoon. 

To pick the best ripe papaya, focus on the skin. A fruit with mostly yellow skin — sometimes freckled with green — signals ripeness. Press gently near the stem — it should give slightly, like a ripe avocado, but not collapse. The final test is aroma. Ripe papayas give off a sweet, floral scent, while underripe fruit has little smell, and overripe ones verge on musky. Master these cues, and you'll always know whether you're bringing home silky sweetness or salad-worthy crunch.

Once you've brought your papaya home, the right tools make prep easy. Start with a sharp chef's knife to slice off both ends, then stand the fruit upright and cut down the sides to peel away the skin. A spoon works best for scooping out the black, peppery seeds. You can eat papaya seeds, which are high in fiber, but once they're removed, you can cube or slice the fruit depending on how you plan to use it.

Green papaya requires a little extra muscle. In Thai kitchens, a special serrated shredder is the go-to for som tam, the iconic papaya salad. If you don't have one, a julienne peeler or box grater is a solid substitute. Ripe papaya, on the other hand, is soft enough that you can cut it in half with a knife, and eat it with a spoon.

For storage, keep unripe papaya on the counter until it softens and turns yellow. Once cut, refrigerate the fruit in an airtight container — it should hold up for a couple of days before the texture turns mushy.

Papaya adapts easily to both sweet and savory dishes, depending on ripeness. Ripe papaya brings a soft, melon-like sweetness that works beautifully in smoothies, especially when blended with creamy silken tofu for an extra boost of protein; and cubed papaya adds tropical brightness to salads.

Green papaya, by contrast, takes the spotlight in savory cooking, and its crisp, fibrous texture stands up to bold flavors. In Thai-style green papaya salad, unripe shredded papaya mingles with tomatoes, garlic, chilies, long beans, and peanuts, and is tossed in a dressing of lime, fish sauce, and palm sugar. The result hits every note with sweet, sour, salty, and spicy, earning a place among the healthiest Thai restaurant dishes. No green papaya on hand? Shredded cabbage makes a worthy stand-in, especially when paired with a punchy Thai lime dressing, for a salad you won't want to share.