and has a pleasing sweet-tart balance, with a
delicate, fruity and flowery aroma, something
like a lychee. It’s usually eaten fresh or in
preserves, and is also canned.
Food Words: Tropical Fruits
Many of our words for tropical fruits come
from the peoples among whom Western
travelers first encountered them. Banana
comes from several West African
languages, mango from south Indian
Tamil, papaya from Carib, durian from
Malay (a word meaning “thorn”).
Papaya Papayas are species of the genus
Carica, a native of the American tropics that
looks like a small tree but is actually a large
herbaceous plant. The common papaya, C.
papaya, consists of a thickened ovary wall,
orange to orange-red with carotenoid
pigments, and a few dark seeds in a large
central cavity. It is a climacteric fruit that
doesn’t store any starch. Ripening begins at