Everyone who lives in Ohio knows the official state tree is the buckeye, but did you know the official state fruit is the pawpaw? I may be going out on a limb here, but I believe most people don’t know what a pawpaw is, and I’m sure even fewer have seen the tree or tasted the fruit.
On the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website, it rates the pawpaw tree as common and states it is found throughout all of Ohio and most of the eastern United States. It is described as a native understory tree found in moist places such as bottoms of ravines, hillsides and creek banks. One tree often produces suckers, and a small colony or bunches are often found together. The small tree is easily identified by its long, tropical-looking leaves and smooth bark.
Pawpaw trees must be pollinated by another tree, and the clones that shoot out from the parent plant cannot cross-pollinate and produce fruit. Pollination occurs in early spring and is primarily achieved by flies that are attracted to the flowers that give off a rotting meat odor. Honey bees are not a factor in pollinating this tree. I suspect wasps and yellow jackets, looking for meat, as well as the flies, do the bulk of the pollinating. I had to mention honey bees because this is a column about bees.
The fruit has a short shelf life and is very perishable when ripe. The fruit is cut open, and the pulp is removed, as well as the seeds. The taste of the fruit is a cross between a mango, a banana and a citrus taste. The texture is like a very ripe banana, and once you try it, you’ll wonder why this secret fruit isn’t more popular and available.
The festival
The annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival is held in September each year on Lake Snowden near Albany, Ohio. The festival has run for 27 years and is promoted as a fun-filled, educational event celebrating America’s largest native fruit tree, the pawpaw (Asimina triloba).
After years of knowing about this festival, the stars aligned, and me and my little pawpaw drove three hours to the event to see what all the hoopla was over this mysterious fruit. My thoughts of a one-tank trip just to celebrate a pawpaw tree was a beginning sign of a serious mental illness, but I didn’t feel so bad when I found out other pawpaw enthusiasts hailed from as far away as Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia. I convinced myself that at least I’ll be home by dark and am able to snag a half sheet from Wally’s Pizza.
The festival was like your usual hometown festival with a pawpaw theme — pawpaw chocolate, pawpaw oil, pawpaw hoodies, earrings, tattoos, posters, books, trees, seeds, mugs, glasses, fruit and pawpaw beer. Everything pawpaw and more. It was a fun-filled festival, and there were a lot of vendors selling all types of trees and medicinal herbs as well. The fruit is pricey, with one vendor giving out samples and selling the fruit for $10 per pound. But after driving three hours, I wasn’t about to go home without a beer mug, hoodie and a couple of pounds of Ohio’s official tasty exotic fruit.
If you want to visit a pawpaw farm this fall, there is still time to enjoy the treat. West View Pawpaw Farm is located at 2610 S Columbus Road in Wooster, Ohio, and is owned by Loren and Mabel Kirchen. They have over 400 producing trees at their farm. When I spoke to Mabel on Monday of this week, she told me the fruit was not quite ready for sale and was still green and hard. They are hoping that with this hot weather, the fruit will be ready for the weekend. You can reach the farm at 330-262-8165, and it is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Big dog
I was able to meet and buy from the big dog or the big pawpaw at the festival. Integration Acres Ltd is located on 9794 Chase Road, Albany, Ohio. Owner Chris Chmiel started the farm with his wife in 1996 and claims to be the largest pawpaw processor in the world. They sell fresh and frozen pawpaws to processors who then make beer, oils, soaps and many other products. They also sell seeds, seedlings and all things pawpaw. Chris can be reached at integrationacres.com or 740-698-6060.
