[ti:Paw Paws, a Forgotten American Fruit, Become Popular Again] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:01.60]Have you ever heard of a paw paw? [00:05.68]If not, do not feel bad. [00:08.24]Most Americans do not know of the fruit, [00:12.24]although it is native to the United States. [00:17.20]Once, however, it was one of the most popular fruits in North America. [00:24.92]Happily, those who love the paw paw are trying to return it [00:30.80]to its former position in American foods. [00:35.04]A paw paw is a tropical-like fruit [00:38.84]that grows on trees found all over the eastern United States. [00:45.00]It's also the largest edible fruit native to the US. [00:52.16]It is similar to a typical mango in size. [00:56.52]It has a dull green-colored skin, [01:00.12]and a soft, almost-creamy orange inside. [01:06.00]Most people agree that the pawpaw tastes like a combination of a banana, [01:13.00]an apricot and a mango. [01:17.00]Most people are very surprised by its sweet taste. [01:21.92]At one time, it could be found as far west as Nebraska. [01:28.68]It also grows along the East Coast from New York to Florida. [01:34.76]The fruit has a very short harvest season, [01:38.56]from two to three weeks in September and October. [01:44.72]The paw paw was an important food for Native Americans [01:49.04]and even early European settlers. [01:53.60]Paw paws reportedly were a favorite treat of George Washington, [01:58.84]the first U.S. president, who especially liked them cold. [02:04.00]Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president, was also a fan of the fruit. [02:11.72]He planted paw paws at Monticello, his home in Virginia. [02:17.52]He also sent paw paw seeds to his friends in France. [02:22.44]American explorers Lewis and Clark wrote in their journals about the paw paw. [02:28.46]Today, paw paws remain popular in the Appalachian mountain area. [02:35.40]The paw paw has never been sold commercially. [02:38.83]The fruit requires a very special environment [02:43.24]-- low, wet areas that sometimes flood. [02:47.84]In addition, the fruit is good to eat [02:51.12]for only two to three days after harvesting. [02:55.64]This makes it hard to sell anywhere distant from the paw paw tree it came from. [03:02.12]Planters are again growing paw paw trees and harvesting the fruit. [03:07.92]In several states farmers have organized "paw paw festivals" to reintroduce people to the food. [03:16.17]At such a festival in Maryland recently, [03:20.20]farmers displayed different products made with paw paws. [03:25.00]There were paw paw jams, pies, gelato, and beer. [03:30.60]Michael Judd helped organize the Maryland paw paw festival. [03:36.96]"It has that energy, and the people here today, there's an excitement, [03:39.88]because they are trying something totally new but also exotic that grows here." [03:45.37]Farmers are trying to grow kinds of paw paw that will be easier to ship and sell commercially. [03:52.84]Donna and Jim Davis are paw paw farmers in Westminster, Maryland. [03:58.28]They told National Public Radio that they purchased their paw paw trees in the 1990s [04:04.88]and now sell the fruit at farmers markets and online. [04:09.28]So, who knows? Maybe the paw paw will show up soon at a market near you. [04:17.44]I'm Phil Dierking. [04:19.11]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM