Papaya is available nearly year round here in Puerto Rico. Unlike Hawaiian varieties, Caribbean papaya tend to be large…2 pounds or more is not uncommon. It’s a versatile fruit that can be used in all its stages of ripeness.
Drizzle lime juice over slices of fresh ripe papaya for a cool and refreshing breakfast…so good and loaded with vitamins and minerals. Over fluffy pancakes papaya jam is to die for. Green papaya makes a terrific chutney as piquant as you dare and even a pickled salad Filipino style. A popular dish in the Polynesian South Pacific is lo’i lesi. Its a papaya filled with coconut milk, a little cinnamon and raw sugar. Then it is wrapped in banana leaves and baked in an umu (underground oven). What a treat! Like pudding. Polynesians also use shredded green papaya to tenderize lamb, beef, giant clams, octopus and conch.
This jam is even better with a few of the seeds thrown in. The seeds become tender and have a slight peppery flavor when cooked. They add a little more character to the jam, at least in appearance.
This Dame Cooks Blog 