The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook

Book excerpt: A cookbook and guide to enjoying “America’s best secret fruit”—a rare Midwestern delicacy with a “sunny, electric, and downright tropical” flavor (Serious Eats). They are found in the fleeting, honeyed weeks between August and October. They are fleshy and awkward to eat, sweetly fragrant, and they do not travel well at all. They are beloved by foragers, keepers of regional food traditions, and anyone seeking relief from the industrial food chain. In The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook, Sara Bir sets the humble pawpaw center stage, with detailed information on how to harvest, source, store, and―of course―cook with these uniquely Midwestern delicacies. Here you’ll find recipes for pawpaw cornbread and pawpaw pudding; key lime pawpaw cheesecake and banana-pawpaw ketchup. Sidebars address questions as varied as “Where can I buy frozen pawpaws?” and “How do I use pawpaw in a cocktail?” Written with humor and love for a curious subject, The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook will inspire you to experiment in the kitchen and get out into the woods. “The best cookbooks convey not only how to use an ingredient but why an ingredient is special in the first place. The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook is just that sort of resource—great recipes that make me want to go foraging in order to cook them!” ―Abra Berens, chef and James Beard Award-nominated author of Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit Includes an introduction by Alexis Nikole Nelson, TikTok star and @blackforager