Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
for any lot of papayas, provided not more than 5% by count of fruit in the
lot have soluble solids less than 10.5%. Fruit is sized into the following size
classifi cations: small 284-369 g; medium 369-454 g; large 454-907 g; and
extra large over 907 g. A major problem with the standard is the dii culty in
achieving same size and skin colour that will ripen together in the carton.
Other typical requirements include that the fruit must be free from decay,
breakdown, internal lumps and other undesirable characteristics and free
from various categories of injury, including insect and mechanical injury.
WORLD PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION
Production
Thirty-eight countries are reported to produce papaya. Six countries produce
a minimum of 100,000 MT/year. Brazil is the largest producer, followed by
Mexico, Indonesia, India, Zaire, Taiwan and the Philippines (Anonymous,
2003). World production is in excess of reported fi gures, as considerable
production occurs in small island countries in the tropics; backyard and
subsistence-farm production and that consumed locally may not enter into
the world production statistics.
Utilization
The fruit is the major product from this species, though young leaves and
male fl owers are used as vegetables and in soap. Nutritionally, the papaya is a
good source (Table 11.8) of calcium (30 mg/100 g), and an excellent source
of provitamin A and ascorbic acid (Wenkam, 1990). Papayas are consumed
fresh as breakfast fruit, dessert or in salads. In Asia, green fruits are cooked
as a vegetable or made into preserves. Papayas are also processed into various
forms, such as dehydrated slices, chunks and slices for tropical fruit salads and
cocktails, or processed into puree for juices and nectar base, usually frozen,
and as canned nectar, mixed drinks and jams. Papaya puree is the basis for
remanufacturing of many products. Papaya puree is processed aseptically
or frozen, with yield of
ca.
50%. The fl avour of aseptically processed puree is
stable during processing and after 6 months in ambient storage, with some
colour changes noted.
Papain is a proteolytic enzyme that digests proteins and is used as a
meat tenderizer, as a digestive medicine in the pharmaceutical industry, in
beer brewing, tanning industries and in the manufacture of chewing gum.
Papain production is primarily centred in Tanzania and India, where labour is
abundant and inexpensive. The latex is obtained from green papaya by making
about four surface lancings on the fruit and catching the drippings in cups,
