" papaya "

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first, pick it up in your hands and feel for the weight of it. it should resemble the low heft of a hand-sized river stone. check the color of the skin. a particularly sweet papaya is most likely a faded mute jade green color mixed with lengthy strokes of red and sometimes orange and yellow at the head and tail.

next bring the fruit up to your nose and deeply inhale the scent. the best flavors of the papaya have a deep pungent sweetness resembling an exotic almost overripe tang with a very palatable aftertaste and cherry undertones. the flesh of the papaya ranges from a deep orange-red to a bright yellow. it is supple and when you eat it; it almost melts in your mouth, but does retain a fleshy firmness that feels great when biting into the slices.

a basic preparation for this fruit is to gently scrub the outer skin of the fruit, then take a large knife and slice it along the body in half. scoop out the seeds and white interior with a soup spoon, then either peel or slice the fruit into bite-sized pieces.

there is nothing like a freshly sliced cold-from-the-fridge (or iced fruit cart as the case may be in BKK) papaya. i easily consume a kilo and a half of this fruit every two days, and could eat more if it were not for the other exotic and delicious seasonal fruits available here in thailand. but i am sure you are going to visit me soon, so we can share some together.

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