My Hunt for the Paw Paw, Michigan’s Elusive Tropical Fruit

Paw Paw — I thought paw paw was a town near Kalamazoo. Turns out, it’s also a fruit, America’s largest indigenous tropical fruit, in fact. Surprised you haven’t heard of it? Me too.

I’m prepping for my first deer hunt this fall, and hunting some local fruit seemed like a fitting first step. I started with the physical characteristics: a small deciduous tree with low-hanging branches full of large oval green leaves. The tree doesn’t require spraying with insecticides or fungicides, and neither Japanese beetles nor deer bother with it. At first glance, it looks like a standard tree, but on closer inspection, you will see clumps of bright green fruits nestled underneath. I’m sure I’ve walked by one in the past and didn’t even know it. 

I started my hunt at the local grocers. Their tropical fruits had been flown in and placed in out-of-the-way corners of the produce section. Family Fare, Meijer, Harvest Health, Horrocks, Aldi—all came up short. I had some hope for the smaller shops. I wouldn’t exactly call it high. At health stores and the local Asian markets, I asked if anyone had ever received paw paws during the peak season. Most had never even heard of it. I understand the resistance from big box stores, given that the fruit doesn’t ripen fully unless you let it naturally fall. It starts to rot after about three days and bruises easily on top of that. Kingma’s Market in Grand Rapids asked me where they might find it themselves, after I asked if they had any. 

Even the farmers market in Paw Paw, the town named after the fruit, came up empty. A sweet woman at the market gave me an extra bag of blueberries as consolation, after telling me her paw paw tree didn’t do well this year due to frost. She recommended checking out the state parks nearby. Leaving the modest market, I passed a storefront with “Paw Paw Lock and Key” on the glass. “Is that where you guys keep the fruit?” I wondered. 

On my way out of town, I saw two guys riding a bike in a park with a basket. Not to stereotype, but long beards, worn t-shirts and no shoes? If there was fruit in that park, those guys were probably picking it. After a lovely jaunt trip through the lakeside parcel, the trail had gone cold, and I sensed that I had wandered a bit off the trail myself. I held up my picture of a paw paw tree against the local foliage before calling it a day.

With the state’s paw paws ripening, I needed to find a tree fast. The largest and only Michigan U-Pick paw paw orchard, Boone’s, is closed this season due to Ann Arbor also getting hit by frost. But I wasn’t about to call it quits due to some bad weather. Paw paws grow all around the Midwest and Canada. They even grow down south, so one fruit shouldn’t be too hard to come by.

Most people I spoke to on my quest who had known about the fruit were either farmers, tribal members, or folks who happened to have a couple of trees somewhere on their property. I asked if any of them had tasted the fruit. Few had. Those who did described the flavor as custard-like, like a mix between a banana and a papaya or mango. Rich but fresh. I began dreaming of paw paw ice cream. 

Luckily, Michiganders are great at pointing you in the right direction. Marc Boone himself, Michigan’s largest paw paw proprietor, was quick to let his U-Pick customers know other options for paw paw picking this year. I put away my cookbooks and got back on the trail. 

I reached out to Nash’s Seeds outside of Lansing and found out they had frozen paw paw fruit from their farm available year round. I pulled up to the sprawling farmland, with a welcoming entrance and small parking lot. 

Nash’s is a gorgeous sight to take in on an early September day. The flowers around their century-old barn are in full bloom, with rows and rows of plants and trees carrying on to the horizon. A trio of very loving brown labs greeted me as I stepped onto the property. 

I was elated when a friendly employee named Cathy took out some of the frozen paw paw fruit. She also shared some of her own paw paw recipes, printed with facts about the tree and fruit itself.

Cathy let me know that Nash’s paw paw trees still have a few weeks left to ripen, but once they do, the fruit will be for sale as well. She said, “As good as the puree is, it’s nothing compared to having it fresh.” I’ll be back to try it. 

I walked down rows of planted trees to see the paw paws themselves. Thank goodness there was a sign, as they are nearly as hard to see in person as they are in retail stores. Tucked in amongst the vibrant green leaves were oblong green fruits, juicy but still firm. They will develop a light yellow hue as they get ripe and ready to fall.

Back from my hunt, I immediately tried a scoop of the frozen paw paw fruit, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was sweet, distinctly rich, and refreshing all at once. It begs to be in more frozen desserts. I whipped up Nash’s Paw Paw Cream Pie and let it cool in the freezer.

I also bought two seedlings for my grandparents farm at Nash’s. While I may not have had a walk in the woods to pick the fruit myself, there is still time. 

I’m happy to report that the Nash’s pie recipe has been thoroughly enjoyed by me and my family. So much so, we had to use the rest of the frozen fruit for another. That warm pie is cooling in the kitchen as I type.

Devinn Dakohta is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer. Follow her on Instagram @Devinn.Dakohta and X @DevinnDakohta.