Papaya
Get to know the papaya — a fruit rich in papain enzyme that's great for digestion. Nutritional content, health benefits, and how to pick a ripe papaya.
What Is Papaya?
Papaya (Carica papaya) is a tropical fruit with soft, sweet, reddish-orange flesh that's easy to find year-round in Indonesian markets. It has an oblong shape with a central cavity full of small black seeds that are usually discarded before eating. Because it's affordable and always available, papaya is one of the fruits most often seen on everyday dining tables, whether ripe for eating fresh or unripe for vegetable dishes and pickled salads.
Papaya is also widely known for its papain enzyme, which aids digestion, making it a fruit often recommended as a dessert after a big meal.
Papaya's Nutritional Content
Per 100 grams of fresh ripe papaya:
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| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | ~43 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | ~11 g |
| Fiber | ~1.7 g |
| Vitamin C | ~62 mg |
| Vitamin A | ~47 mcg |
The vitamin C content in papaya is actually higher than in some citrus fruits, making it an affordable choice for boosting the body's immune defenses.
Health Benefits
- Supports digestion — the papain enzyme helps break down protein, making food easier to digest.
- Promotes regular bowel movements — the combination of fiber and high water content helps relieve mild constipation.
- Strengthens the immune system — high vitamin C content supports immune function.
- Good for eye health — vitamin A and the antioxidant lutein support healthy vision.
Ways to Eat Papaya
- Eaten fresh when ripe — simply cut it open, remove the seeds, and slice it to taste as a snack or dessert.
- Papaya juice — blended with a little water and ice, sometimes mixed with milk for a creamier taste.
- Sayur pepaya muda (young papaya vegetable dish) — unripe papaya is grated and cooked into a homestyle lodeh (coconut vegetable stew) or stir-fry.
- Rujak or asinan (fruit/pickled salad) — semi-ripe papaya is thinly sliced and mixed with a palm sugar and chili seasoning.
How to Choose & Store
- choose papaya with skin that's mostly yellow-orange if you want to eat it right away
- press the skin gently — ripe papaya should feel slightly soft but not mushy
- avoid papaya with large black spots or a fermented smell
- papaya that's still green can be kept at room temperature until fully ripe
- ripe papaya should be stored in the refrigerator to slow down spoilage
- once cut, wrap it tightly and finish it within 1-2 days to keep it fresh
Practical Tips
- Remove the seeds before storing — seeds left attached can speed up the spoilage of the surrounding flesh.
- Make use of unripe papaya — if you've picked one that's still hard, turn it into a vegetable dish or pickled salad instead of waiting for it to ripen.
- Use it as a natural meat tenderizer — the papain enzyme in unripe papaya can help tenderize meat before cooking.
- Pair it with a squeeze of lime — a touch of lime's acidity makes the taste of ripe papaya even more refreshing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is papaya safe for pregnant women?
Why is papaya good for digestion?
Can the seeds be eaten?
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