My wife made a sort of flan pie thing with them one year which was a qualified success
Pawpaws are super popular among homestead/prepping type discussions. Easy to grow I guess? I’ve never had one because they don’t grow here, not sure what the more arid equivalent is - serviceberry?
I had durian once and it was kind of disappointing because while it didn’t smell good, it wasn’t as dire as advertised. Once you got past minor unpleasantness it was papaya or something.
I remembered the pawpaw patch song but did not really know what it was referring to.
I have enjoyed papaya but try not to give it. I have had soursop before. I think these are different.
I don’t think I have ever heard or seen Canadian pawpaw so was surprised to learn it grows here. Probably one of those uberfringe things like Saskatoon berries, spruce beer, dulce or brewis. 
The cherimoya or custard apple is in the same family as pawpaws, sweetsops and soursops (see images in Wikipedia link). Mark Twain called it “the most delicious fruit known to men.” I’ve had a few over the years and they are very tasty, although even one is a bit much for me. About the size of a large softball, they’re ideally eaten when ripe enough to be very soft and will be inedible just a few days afterward, as they turn mushy and taste bad, not unlike melons.
We had producing paw paw (Asimina triloba) trees in our backyard when we lived in Ohio. Once you scoop out the big seeds, the ripe fruit is custard-like and tasty, but I wouldn’t want to eat it all the time.
If you want to grow paw paw you need 2 or more genetically different trees to get fruit.
I think my grandmother made paw paw jelly. She made a lot of jelly and preserves.
Its why I liked meals at her house. 
I’ve had pawpaw and durian. I like pawpaw, I do not like durian. When I lived in Indonesia, my staff loved durian; to me it tasted like bananas soaked in gasoline and smelled worse; my rule was all durian was eaten outside of the office.
Pawpaws grow along rivers and streams in the mid-Atlantic. Around September, you can find ripe ones, some are sweet almost like a mango, others are bitter. I’m told there are two varieties.
My grandparents had a pawpaw tree up in Maryland, and I really liked eating them as a kid, but they didn’t really have a ‘wow’ factor that would make me seek them out now.
Have there been any attempts to grow paw-paw trees outside the eastern US and Canada? Is there a reason why you couldn’t grow them somewhere in California or the Pacific Northwest?
I think cherimoya is the most commercially cultivated of this group. I’ve seen it in grocery stores, especially specialty ones like Sprouts. I’ve never seen the others to me knowledge.
We did, too.
In fact, this thread had me singing that line (the only one I could remember) in my head all day yesterday.
It’s the only line I remember too. So…
Thanks! I didn’t rememer it being Burl Ives. I remember singing the Little White Duck song, when I was a little little kid.
Who sang the version with this lyric?
Where’s the Clown with the van and the candy?
Where’s the Clown with the van and the candy?
Where’s the Clown with the van and the candy?
Way down yonder in the paw paw patch!
No idea. You?
Yeah, you got me. I just made it up as I was posting. 
Hee hee.
My grandmother had a pawpaw tree just off her (raised) porch. You could even pick one from the porch occasionally.
I can sorta still remember how it tasted. Kinda banan-y, but more with a pear-like consistency.
And I knew that song from a Kidsongs video starring some puppets called the Biggles. Though “pawpaw patch” always seemed odd to me since it grows on a tree, not a bush or vine.
Paw paws grow wild over a large range. There’s a general requirement for 400 chilling hours in winter to produce fruit (temps under 45 degrees), but that also depends on what variety you grow. There are reportedly cultivars more adaptable to southern growing conditions, which might also do well in mild areas in the PNW.
Any 80s kids remember the Paw Paw Bears?