Friends Drift Inn Farm – Kentucky State University Event
Revision Dec. 2, 2019 Pawpaw fruits are something Charlie and I are passionate about. Once easily found, the groves of trees are now more difficult to find. Commercial growers are springing up answering the call for this unique fruit. Friends Drift Inn will be offering limited runs of pawpaw jam in the fall if the crop is good. Don’t miss out!
What is a Paw Paw or Pawpaw? Glad you asked. For the next week, Friends Drift Inn blog will be featuring Paw Paw recipes, culture and stories about the custardy autumn fruit. I appeared at 4 of East Kentucky Broadcasting Stations yesterday , and tomorrow in The Appalachian News Express. It’s a Paw Paw Palooza!
Kentucky Food Scene Goes Global
From chef Anthony Lamas Seviche in Louisville to the little café down the street from my office, paw paws are making waves in food trends. It’s not just a Kentucky phenom, it’s an international movement.
Last weekend,Kentucky State University hosted the Third Annual International Paw Paw Conference exploring “Pawpaw: Its Past, Present, and Future.” The Conference featured “Paw Paws around the World” a discussion of national and international pawpaw variety trials, pawpaw processing and marketing advances, as well as sessions addressing paw paw research, extension, and entrepreneurial activities. According to Kirk W. Pomper, Phd, KSU Principal Investigator of Horticulture “Topics ranged from processing, propagating, orchard production, pests and diseases, and how paw paw was introduced into Romania in 1925.”
Attended by well over 100; folks from 18 states and several countries including The Netherlands and Romania attended the conference. Kentucky State University is the only full-time Paw Paw research facility in the world.
Internationally, the demand for paw paw fruit is growing. With a short shelf life, perhaps three days if refrigerated, many culinary mavens are freezing paw paw puree by the gallons.
Eating fresh paw paws out-of-hand is an Appalachian fall ritual handed down for generations. I wonder what my Grandma would say about all the fancy foods created with the paw paw craze.
A pawpawffet dinner featuring paw paw cuisines was the highlight of last week’s conference. There were paw paw smooothies and Kentucky fresh water prawns with paw paw cocktail sauce. Curried soups, pork medallions with sweetened paw paw sauce peeked many attendees interest and appetites. Desserts were plentious including paw paw cookies, paw paw crème brulee, and even paw paw hand pies!
I was unable to attend the event. But Beth Dotson Brown, part of our newly formed Kentucky Food Bloggers Association recounts her impressions on her blog Goodness From the Garden.
Once you try the custardy, near tropical fruity flavors of an old-time Paw Paw you will wonder why it took you so long! The Paw Paw season is short…don’t miss it!
Sorghum Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe for Paw Paw Salad
