Best Pawpaw Competition
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, at 12:15 p.m.
The Best Pawpaw Competition is the annual event that recognizes the world’s best and biggest pawpaws. There are many nuances to pawpaw flavor and desirable characteristics of the fruit itself. All pawpaws are eligible. Don’t have a pawpaw to enter? Come and hear the judges describe what makes a good pawpaw. Winners receive bragging rights, certificates and cash! $100 for first prize, $50 for 2nd prize and $25 for 3rd prize. Have an enormous pawpaw? $50 also will be awarded to the largest pawpaw. Click here for more info.
Winners will be announced after 1:15 pm presentation.
WHAT TO HAVE ON THE “CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO” PAGE:
Register your pawpaw(s) from 10:30 am – noon on Saturday in the pop-up tent just outside of the Pawpaw Tent. To enter, one must provide three fruits from the same tree for sampling and all three fruit must be at the Pawpaw Tent by noon for weighing. Only one entry per person is permitted in this event. To collect prize money, winners must provide scion wood or bud wood from the winning trees for use in the variety trials organized by NAPGA.
Entry Form
Click here to download an entry form.
The Best Pawpaw Competition recognizes the characteristics that make a good pawpaw, including the many nuances of pawpaw flavor. Judges will rate each fruit will receive on a score from 1 to 5 in each of the categories below. The fruit with the most points wins!
Weight: What is the perfect eating size for a pawpaw? Is bigger always better? For this spectacular pawpaw gathering, each fruit will actually be weighed to score this category.
Appearance: What does a perfect pawpaw look like? Some are perfectly oblong, others are almond or peanut shaped. Appearance is subjective, but the judges know that a perfect Susquehanna is very fat and round whereas the perfect Shenandoah is much more oblong.
Skin Surface: How does the fruit look? Judges are looking for smooth and unblemished, not bumpy and blemished.
Aroma: How does this fruit smell? An appealing and complicated aroma is great; a fermenty odor is not.
Skin Thickness: Thicker pawpaw skins would help reduce the fragility and perishable nature of the fruit, so more points to the tougher-skinned fruits.
Seeds: Though the seeds are pretty and can be used as beads, planted for new trees or used for the medicinal and pesticide properties, we judge the fewer seeds the better.
Front Flavor: How is the fruit flavor? The more the judges like it, the more points are awarded. Although this is subjective, the judges know to look for banana, mango, and other subtle flavors along with the perfect sweet/acid balance.
Texture: The pawpaw fruit can be firm, custard-like or mushy. We are looking for the smooth custard-like texture that only the perfectly ripe pawpaw can have.
Aftertaste: What flavor elements linger on your palate? Are they fruity and pleasant or bitter and rindy? The better the aftertaste, the more points awarded.
Pawpaw Cookoff
Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021
11:15 a.m.
(Winners announced during the 12:30 cooking demonstration)
BLURB ON EVENTS PAGE:
Prepared dishes must be delivered to the pop-up tent just outside of the Pawpaw Tent from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. on Sunday. You can prepare three BITE-SIZED samples of your dish or leave it whole and the judges can portion it at the judging tables. Any leftovers will be sampled by the crowd. Entrants in the Sauces/Condiments category are encouraged to provide a small sample containing just the sauce to be judged when they enter the sample served in combination with other foods. We have refrigeration and a freezer, but we do not have the capability to keep hot foods hot. Appearance matters, so make your dish as appealing as you can. First-place winners in each category will receive a plaque and cash prize of $100. Second- and third-place winners in each category will receive a cash prize of $50 and $25 respectively, as well as a plaque. Click here for more info.
WHAT TO HAVE ON THE “CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO” PAGE:
Prepared dishes must be delivered to the pop-up tent just outside of the Pawpaw Tent from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. on Sunday. You can prepare three BITE-SIZED samples of your dish or leave it whole and the judges can portion it at the judging tables. Any leftovers will be sampled by the crowd. Entrants in the Sauces/Condiments category are encouraged to provide a small sample containing just the sauce to be judged when they enter the sample served in combination with other foods. We have refrigeration and a freezer, but we do not have the capability to keep hot foods hot. Appearance matters, so make your dish as appealing as you can.
You can enter multiple dishes in each category, but only one entry per person per category is permitted to receive an award. Entrants need not be present to win, so consider naming multiple dishes for your family members, friends, co-workers, pets, etc.
First-place winners in each category will receive a plaque and cash prize of $100. Second- and third-place winners in each category will receive a cash prize of $75 and $50 respectively, as well as a plaque.
This year’s categories are:
-Sauces/Condiments
-Beverages (including alcoholic drinks)
-Sweets/Desserts
-Savories (including entrees, breads, appetizers and salads)
Judges will rate each dish on a score from 1 to 5 in each of the categories below. The most points wins!
Appearance: How does this dish look? Is this an appealing presentation?
Originality: Is this an exceptionally inventive dish? Did this take some culinary skill to come up with? Or is it a twist on a traditional favorite?
Pawpaw Flavor: Is the pawpaw flavor barely detectable? Is it overwhelming? Or is it just right?
Overall Flavor: How does it taste overall? Is it mouthwatering and enjoyable or is something just not working?
Food Safety
Please make sure that you are using ripe pawpaw or commercially available pawpaw pulp to prepare your dishes! We can keep your cold foods cold (or frozen) but we do not have the capacity to keep hot foods hot, so please consider food safety when entering dishes that may create a risk for food-borne illness. If you have questions, contact pawpawtent@ohiopawpawfest.com.
Pawpaw Cookoff Entry Form
Click here to download the pawpaw cookoff entry form.