Papaya is one of those fruits that people either love or hate, there really isn’t much middle ground. For those who enjoy eating this fruit, it is quite delicious and its composition is also quite beneficial to the body.
If you have a bunch of papayas sitting around, not wanting them to spoil, or you have some you may want to save and use at a later date, I am pretty sure you want to know if they can be frozen? The answer is yes, you can freeze papaya and we are going to show you how.
Why Freezing Papaya is a Good Idea?
There are many reasons why people opt to freeze papayas. The first thing that comes to mind is that most people love freezing this fruit to put in their smoothie. Frozen fruit makes it easy to whip up a good smoothies and if you are making one that calls for papaya as an ingredient, then having frozen pieces of this fruit would be the best thing to have on hand.
Another reason is that there may be large amounts of the fruit at your disposable and they will spoil or you want to keep them to be used at a later date. Whatever the reason, papayas can be frozen easily and the process is quite quick.
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How to Freeze Papaya
How to Freeze PapayaFreezing papaya is quite simple. It will only take a couple of minutes to have the fruit prepared and ready to store.
The steps below highlight the best way to go about freezing papaya.
Steps
- Peel the skin from the papaya, then slice it in two, from top to bottom. Remove the seeds from the fruit using a spoon.
- Slice up the de-seeded papaya into small bite size pieces.
- Place the sliced papaya on a baking sheet or plate. Ensure that the pieces are not touching each other.
- Place the baking sheet/plate with the papaya in the freezer. Freeze for about 45 minutes to an hour, or till the papaya is solid.
- Remove the fruit from the baking sheet/plate and place in a heavy-duty freezer bag.
- Mark the bag with the date, so you have an idea how long it has been in the freezer. (It can be stored up to a year)
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Thawing Your Papaya
While most people using the frozen papaya pieces in their smoothies, there are others who will opt to use it in its defrosted state.
It is not recommended, as papaya has a soft texture and when it becomes thawed out, it will be wet, soft and a bit runny. This should be no problem if the fruit will be pureed or used in dishes that call for the fruit. However, to eat it thawed out, the experience would be far from enjoyable.
If you wish to thaw it out, you can leave it to defrost either in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Thanks for this information, I honestly did not know papaya could be frozen succesfully. I will give it a try soon; I love papaya and we have it available year round, though it does have it’s high season ,when it’s most sweet.