How to Make a Papaya Milkshake

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Use a ripe papaya.

   Taste the papaya before you use it in your milkshake, just to be sure, even if it was ripe when you bought it.
   
   There are three easy ways to tell whether a papaya is ripe without slicing it open:
   Look at the color.
   
   Unripe papaya is green on the outside.
   
   The skin of ripe papaya will be splashed with rich red, orange, and yellow hues.
   
   Some types of papaya grow yellow when ripe, and some grow red—the important thing is that the fruit is not completely green.
   
   Squeeze the papaya gently.
   
   If it is ripe, the skin will give a little bit.
   
   If it is unripe, the fruit will feel hard and firm.
   
   If it is overripe, the skin will sag and the fruit may begin to feel squishy.
   
   Smell the papaya where the fruit grew from the stem.
   
   You should smell a sweet, pleasant scent—nothing rotten or overly-sweet.
   
   This method may be most effective once you are familiar with the natural smell of papaya.
2. 2

   Step 2: Try to use local papaya.

   Papaya is freshest and tastiest when it is locally grown and picked.
   
   Papayas grow in Hawaii, Costa Rica, Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Ghana, India, and Peru, among other places.
   
   If the fruit grows in your area, pick it fresh or be sure to buy a ripe papaya.
   
   If it doesn't grow near you, try to choose fruit that's been imported from as close as possible to your location:
   Try Hawaiian Sunrise and Sunset papayas.
   
   These small-to-medium-sized red-orange varieties are known for being some of the sweetest papayas on the market.
   
   The Sunrise has notably shallow seed cavities, making seed removal much easier than with other types.
   
   Try kapaho papaya.
   
   This papaya grows in Hawaii and Costa Rica, and is known for a small-to-medium-sized fruit with sweet, yellow flesh.
   
   Try a Mexican papaya.
   
   Mexican papayas are much larger than kapaho papayas, and they can have either red or yellow flesh on the inside.
   
   The Mexican varieties are not as sweet as the Hawaiian papayas, and some say that they have a bland or bitter flavor.
   
   Mexican yellows are sweeter than Mexican reds, but still not as sweet as the Hawaiian breeds.
   
   Try an Australian variety.
   
   The Bettina and Pearson cultivars grow in Queensland—the fruit are large with sweet flesh.
   
   Sunnybank and Guinea Gold papayas both grow in Western Australia, and they are characterized by their yellow flesh. , The sweetener helps liven up the taste of the milkshake if you are using a bitter or bland papaya.
   
   Use one tablespoon of honey/sugar, or more, or less, depending on how sweet you want the shake to be.
   
   When in doubt, err on the conservative side so that you don't wind up with a milkshake that's too sweet.
   
   Bear in mind that some varieties of papaya are already very sweet.
   
   You don't need to limit yourself to honey and sugar.
   
   Use your favorite sweetener—agave nectar, Stevia extract, etc. , You can use dairy milk, almond milk, soy milk, or any other type—but keep in mind that the thickness of your milk will directly impact the consistency of the milkshake.
   
   If you use a rich whole milk, you will have a thick milkshake.
   
   If you use skim milk, or a thin non-lactose milk like rice milk, your shake will be proportionally thin.
   
   You can balance out the consistency with a scoop of ice cream or yogurt, extra ice cubes, or more papaya.
   
   Try several ingredients and find the combination that works for you. , This will thicken the consistency of thin shakes—say, if you use a thin milk—and it will add a bit of crunch to the finished product.
   
   Use 3-4 ice cubes to start out.
   
   Add more cubes if you like the crunch, or add fewer cubes if you're just trying to thicken the shake a bit.
   
   The blender should have no trouble breaking up the ice cubes. , Black pepper can lend an aromatic punch to the milkshake, and some people love how the bitter bite of the spice complements the sweet scent of papaya.Be careful not to overdo it, unless you particularly love pepper.
   
   You can blend the pepper into the mix, or you can sprinkle it onto the surface of the blended shake.
3. 3

   Step 3: Use honey or sugar to sweeten the shake.

4. 4

   Step 4: Use cold milk.

5. 5

   Step 5: Use ice cubes for a blended-ice shake.

6. 6

   Step 6: Consider adding a pinch of black pepper powder.

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