Where to buy pawpaws in the DC area this season

Julie Stinar, owner of Urban+Ade, with a box of pawpaws.(Courtesy FRESHFARM)

Hillbilly Mango. Hipster banana. Quaker delight. Whatever you call it, the pawpaw fruit season has once again arrived — but be sure to get a taste sooner rather than later because the season can fly by.

The pawpaw is a tropical-tasting fruit that is native to North America with a flavor that is a cross between a mango and a banana with a texture that is creamy and puddinglike.

Despite being forage-able in nearby D.C.-area neighborhoods and across the eastern U.S., what makes pawpaws so hard to find in grocery stores is that they are incredibly difficult to harvest and transport. With that said, it is possible to purchase the fruit at local farmers’ markets, typically over the course of the month of September.

If you’re in pursuit of pawpaws, you can expect to find the fruit at the following locations.

Ben Wenk, partner at Pennsylvania’s Three Springs Fruit Farm, told WTOP that the family-run farm is planning on selling pawpaws, as well as their standard stock of stone fruits and veggies, at the Downtown Silver Spring Market on Saturdays in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Greenbelt Farmers Market on Sundays in Greenbelt. For Three Springs Fruit Farm, the pawpaw is locally foraged, rather than grown out in the fields. Their supply may vary, but they should still be available for another two weeks, Wenk said.

Two Boots Farm in Hampstead, Maryland, grows a wide variety of cut flowers and specialty produce, including approximately 200 cultivated pawpaw fruit trees. Elisa Lane, owner of the family-run business, told WTOP that they’ll be selling pawpaws at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market on Sundays under the Jones Falls Expressway. In the District, Two Boots Farm will also offer the fruits on Sept. 22 and 29 at the Dupont Circle Market on 20th Street NW.

Julie Stinar, owner of Evensong Farm in Sharpsburg, Maryland, confirmed to WTOP that pawpaw buyers can expect to see the fruit during the weekend of Sept. 14 and 15 at two FRESHFARM markets: Saturday’s Downtown Silver Spring Market and Sunday’s Dupont Circle Market. Stinar said it’s possible that the farm will offer pawpaws in following weekends, but “it all depends on nature!”

For a family-friendly event to celebrate the native fruit, head to Frederick, Maryland, on Sept. 21 for the ninth annual Pawpaw Festival at Long Creek Homestead. The event includes tastings, jam making, live music, as well as food forest tours, plant walks, demos and a kids zone.