How to Pick a Ripe Papaya

Papayas are eaten as fresh fruits, cut up in salads, incorporated in soups and stews, roasted, and enjoyed in smoothies. This fruit contains healthful vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, B, C and E, potassium, iron and calcium. Papayas continue to ripen after harvest. However, if you want to eat or cook with one right away, you must harvest them when they are completely ripe, which is also when they contain the most vitamins and minerals. You can tell when papayas are ready to pick by their color more than anything else.

Instructions

1. • 1

     Look at the color of the smooth skin of the papaya. If it has turned from a dark green to yellow or yellow-orange, it is ripe and ready to pick.

   • 2

     Feel the large, round end of the papaya. Press on it with your fingertips. The flesh should indent slightly when the fruit is ripe.

   • 3

     Hold the papaya up to your ear and give it a good shake. If the fruit is ripe, you will hear the seeds rattling around inside.