How to ripen papaya

The papaya we can buy here is almost always unripe. Shredded green papaya makes a crunchy, if not very flavourful, base for the southeast Asian salad, but for eating as a fruit it’s a long wait for papaya to ripen on the kitchen counter. How do people in the tropics, where papaya grows, help it ripen faster? Ann Vanderhoof gives the secret on her blog:

Score the skin lengthwise along the ridges, from stem to blossom, with the tip of a sharp knife. This allows the white “milk” to seep out, and hastens the ripening. Try it – it works.

In the same post, she shows off a trophy-sized kingfish she and her husband, Steve, caught between Bequia and Union Island. Kingfish (or king mackerel) is a member of the tuna family. I’ve seen it for sale in Caribbean grocers in Toronto. Ann grilled kingfish steaks and served them with mango salsa.