Hello, please take a look at this easy 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗮 recipe (papaya dessert) based on the classic Cuban 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮. It is the end of the year, and my papaya trees are just laden with fruit. I have three trees, and it is not rare for them to yield between 40-50 papayas a year.
If you are not familiar with this fruit, as some of my friends, the papaya is native to southern Mexico. However, today India is the top producer exporting over 5 million tons annually. It is a tropical fruit found all the Caribbean, Africa, and even South Florida. Depending on your country of origin, you may have come to know the papaya as papaws, pawpaws, fruta bomba, or lechosa.
A Quick Fact: The word papaya means "tush" in Cuban street slang, which is why it is called fruta de bomba on the island.
If you want to eat a healthy fruit, stop wasting your time with apples, and consider switching to papaya. Some of the health benefits attributed to papaya include improving wound healing, aiding in digestion, and even more significant disorders like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, improving blood glucose, and lowering blood pressure.
𝗗𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗮
Whether you are an experienced cook or not, you are going to find making dulce to papaya one of the easiest dessert you have ever made! There are many variations and recipes for papaya desserts, and this papaya dessert recipe is based on the classic Cuban Dulce de Fruta Bomba. To make it, all you need is about a 3-4 lbs papaya fruit, one cup of sugar for every pound of papaya, some cinnamon sticks, and your choice of spices, either star anise or cloves. Some people use both, but I am just not a fan of that!
For details on the 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲, please visit - cubanredneck.com/recipes/
We'll start by depositing one tablespoon of baking soda into a large mixing bowl. To this, we will add water and stir it, making sure the baking soda is well dissolved- we then can turn our focus on peeling our papaya (fruta bomba). Many people use an ordinary knife, but I think that wastes too much meat, and I believe that a potato peeler does a better job. Regardless of what you are using, cut a piece of the bottom, not the top (stem side). Place it on the flat surface like a cutting board and peel downward. With the papaya peeled, we can choose to cut it in quarters or half the long way.
With a serving spoon or any large spoon with a sharp edge, we will remove the seeds and the hairy membrane. This membrane needs to be removed since it will become bitter when it is cooked. Also, I didn't make a point in the video but looked up all the health benefits of consuming papaya seeds. I sometimes dry them in the sun and grind them as if they were black peppercorns over salads.
Now that our papaya is clean, we need to cut it into one-inch strips and deposit it into the water and baking soda solution. Like potatoes and other veggies, it is a good idea to cut these to a consistent size or thickness.
The baking soda solution is a restaurant trick well documented throughout the internet. It creates a thin shell on the outside. Great for when the papaya is very ripe. My recommendation is as follows. If the papaya is green, ten minutes is sufficient. If the papaya is half-ripe, about fifteen minutes is the target, and only when the papaya is well ripped, you leave it in the solution for twenty minutes.
After the baking soda solution has expired, we need to transfer the papaya chunks to a strainer where we will thoroughly rinse any residues of baking soda. With that done, we can move to the stove, wherein a large saucepan with a lid I recommend arranging all the papaya chunks to create a flat layer. We then need to add the sugar, water, cinnamon, spices, and vanilla extract. Cover it and cook it undisturbed for 15 minutes. At which time we will check that nothing is getting stuck, cover it, and give it another 15-minutes. After cooking for 30-minutes, the papaya would have released quite a bit of liquid. So, we need to arrange the chuck to make sure all are submerged in the syrup as much as possible. We'll give it another 15-minutes, at which time we are going to check for doneness. We are looking for the chunks to be 80-90% translucent. If not, no issue, just give it another 15.
Once done, turn the heat off, and let it cool off to room temperature before moving it to the fridge. I personally like it the next day since the flavors get more intensified. The classic dulce de papaya is served with white Cuban cheese, a more salty variation of queso fresco, but that may be a little tricky to get. If you can't find it, consider cream cheese, not quite the same, but it will do!
This 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘁 which is best known as dulce de papaya, to Cubans, 𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮, is a fantastic and easy-to-make dessert that will either trigger your nostalgia or get you hooked on Cuban cuisine.
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