Paw Paw Sorbet

I love discovering new food. I was walking through one of my favorite farmer markets, Stockton Farm Market, when something caught my attention and I made a new food discovery.  It was green and reminded me of a tropical fruit, like a mango.  I walked closer to the table and took a good look at it. It's kidney shaped and smells kind of like a ripe banana. I asked the nice lady behind the counter and she explained that it's a native North American fruit and these were gathered from the wilds of Eastern Pennsylvania.  She gave me a spoon with a bit of the meat of the fruit to try.  It was soft and custardy.

She told me that it could be used in sorbet and gave me a recipe by Mads Refslund.  I bought two big ripe ones. They look green even when ripe but do feel soft to the touch.  Of course, I had to research this new fruit. So, it's in the same plant family as the cherimoya and custard-apple.  It's native to Eastern, Southern and Mid-Western United States. The fruit grows on trees or large shrubs.

After making the paw paw sorbet, I left it in the freezer overnight.  I tasted it the next night and it was very smooth and definitely have that ripe banana taste.  It is definitely something I would try making again, especially since it was so easy to do.


Paw Paw Sorbet

About 12 ounces of paw paw, peeled and deseeded
1 1/2 cups simple syrup (take equal parts sugar and water, heat until the sugar is just dissolved)
2 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch salt

Puree in a blender and pour into an ice cream maker.  That's it.