Many fruits from all over the world are not only used in the kitchen as a delicacy, but at the same time also have a health-promoting and medicinal value. Tasty is healthy and it should always be that way.
The word papaya comes from the word papayana, which means to hammer, to break. It is related to the word payana, breaking clods of earth. The fruit got that name because the leaves can tenderize flesh. The first name that the Spanish gave to the papaya was higo de mastuerzo (watercress fig), because the seeds have the same spicy taste as watercress. In Cuba, the same fruit is called fruta bomba (bomb fruit), to avoid the term papaya by which the people refer to the female pubis. Other names: papaya de los pajaros (bird papaya) for the wild fruits in Yucatan; and in other parts of the country papaya, papayero and melon chapote or melon zapote (zapotec melon).
The Carica papaya plant
The papaya tree is a fast growing tree. The wood is soft. The hollow trunk has a number of large, incised leaves. The petioles are very long (up to 1m) and hollow. Large leaf scars can be seen all over the trunk. The plant contains a white milky sap (latex) in all parts. The papaya tree is dioecious: there are male trees, which never produce fruit, and female plants which naturally produce fruit. Today, however, varieties with ambiguous flowers are also grown. Here, cross fertilization is no longer necessary. The yellowish-green flowers develop directly on the trunk. The male flowers always appear in large umbels, the female flowers are solitary or in small groups. Papaya trees are grown from seed. They live to be about 25 years old. However, the productivity of the plants decreases after 3 years.
The cultivation of Papaya
The papaya is a real heat lover, it prefers nutrient-rich, well-drained and slightly acidic soil. You can try to grow the plant from fresh seed. Cover the seeds with potting compost, place in a light place at a temperature of 25 ° C. Germination after 3 to 4 weeks.
The papaya fruit
Papayas look like small yellow melons and are about the same size; the pulp also has the same color and taste.
The plant was originally found in the Mexican republic and in Central America. Now papayas are intensively cultivated in all warmer regions, because the fruit is in great demand. The papaya tree grows very quickly and bears fruit after 1 year. It is usually multiplied by seed, but also by cuttings and grafting.
Different varieties of papayas are grown in Mexico. The green papaya, which can weigh 1 to 9 kg and whose skin is rough and stays green, even when the fruit is ripe. The yellow papaya or beeswax papaya with a waxy skin that develops green and yellow streaks as it ripens. In Chiapas there are two other types of small papayas, the papaya del monte (mountain papaya – Carica quercifolia) in the region of Escuitla and the papaya oreja de mico (monkey ear papaya – C. peltata) in the region of Pichucalco.
Uses of Papaya
The papaya tree is very popular all over the world, it contains a milky juice or latex, which is present in all parts of the plant and which contains the enzyme papain, which has the same effect as the pepsin in the gastric juice. The papaya juice is therefore used in medicine in the treatment of dyspepsia and other digestive problems, but also as an anti-worm agent. In addition, the enzyme has the property of dissolving blood clots in the human body and removing growths.
In Mexican herbal medicine, asthmatic people drink a decoction of the papaya tree leaves. In ancient Mexico, the natives used the leaves to stew meat or wrap the meat in it to tenderize it. They also used tea infusions from the leaves to relieve asthma and strengthen the heart. Now we know that the leaves contain carpain, an alkaloid with a cardiac stimulating effect.
The juice of the papaya is also used in folk medicine for warts and all kinds of skin imperfections. In Jamaica, nurses cover skin ulcers with papaya puree compresses to aid wound healing. This enzyme is also highly appreciated in the industry. It clears beer and is used to tenderize meat. It is also found in laundry detergents. In many villages in Mexico, the leaves of this tree still serve as soap for washing clothes. The cosmetics industry also uses the same enzyme in skin bleaching products, especially for bleaching freckles.
Modern herbalism
In modern phytotherapy, we mainly use extracts to promote digestion, often in combination with bittering plants such as Yellow gentian and Centaury. Or against intestinal parasites in combination with pineapple juice.
Papaya also has a regulating effect on inflammatory processes, so it can be used for chronic rheumatic complaints. It also has an expectorant effect (papain), so it is not surprising that Mexicans use it for asthma and other chronic infections of the respiratory tract. Because of its many good properties, Indians in South America call the papaya ‘fruit for a long life’.