Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — New England's annual fall fruit harvest brings out the usual apples, pears, cranberries, and pumpkins.
But there's another fall fruit locals may not have tried yet: the pawpaw.
More and more New Englanders are developing a taste for the seasonal fruit, the largest of its kind native to North America.
The pawpaw looks similar to a mango and has a custardy flesh that tastes somewhat tropical, with notes of banana, apple, pineapple, and grapefruit.
Though the fruit is native to Appalachia, recently more pawpaws have been growing in Southern New England.
Somerville's 'The Mushroom Shop' sources the fruits around this time of year, sending some to 'Honeycomb Creamery.'
Grant Burley, the community engagement manager for the Cambridge ice cream parlor, says their 'Pawpaw lime sherbet' has become a favorite that locals look forward to all year round.
Pawpaws bruise easily and aren't very shelf stable, but demand for the fruit is high among foodies.
"Over the past couple of years, it's sort of become this underground, buzzy thing," said Grant. "And it's become something that people get really excited about."
WBZ News Radio's Madison Rogers (@MadisonWBZ) reports.
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