Food & Drink

Organic Formosa Papaya now available in Florida

Get your papaya fruits at a promotional price only in January

The organic Formosa Papaya has arrived in Florida and you can get it at a promotional price throughout the month of January. The fruit was previously available only at small natural and organic grocery stores in South Florida, but now you can also find it at the national retailer Trader Joe’s.

The fruit availability will culminate in the big celebration of Chinese New Year on January 28. Papaya is a staple food in the Chinese community and a key item during the festival. The stores might continue bringing the organic Formosa papayas beyond January, but shoppers are encouraged to take advantage of the promotional price.

HLB Specialties, one of North America’s premier papaya importer, is estimating that around 135 stores on the US East Coast will carry the fruit, including 17 stores in Florida. At a recent visit to Trader Joe’s in Fort Lauderdale, FL, the papayas were priced at $2.99 a piece, a very competitive price for an organic papaya weighing around 2.5 pounds.

The organic Formosa papayas are one of the healthiest fruits in the world. They are rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, beta-carotene, lycopene, and the enzyme papain, which breaks down protein and promotes digestive health. Only think about the fact that just half of a large papaya has almost 150% more vitamin C than an orange.

The Formosa papayas have a pleasant aroma, sweeter taste, and longer shelf life. They are ready to be eaten with just a few stripes of yellow and don’t need to be ripened to 100% color to be sweet and tasty. To prepare them you only need to cut them lengthwise, remove the small black seeds with a spoon, scoop out the pulp, sprinkle it with a few drops of lime juice, and enjoy. You can also let the seeds dry and then ground them up because they have a slight peppery flavor.

All papayas marketed by HLB are non-GMO, not irradiated, and their Brazilian Golden Caliman Papayas are FairTrade certified. For more details about HLB, you can visit their website or call (954) 475-8808.

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