The Seeds — Don't Throw Them Away
Most people scoop them out and straight into the bin. Don't. Scoop them out - and place them on a plate and go and enjoy your papaya. Come back to them later because it's worth it.
Papaya seeds are peppery, slightly bitter, faintly mustardy — more complex than black pepper, with a heat that builds rather than hits. Dried and ground, they're excellent as a spice. A teaspoon cracked into a salad dressing with olive oil, lime, a little honey and garlic is goooood.
How to do it: Scoop the seeds out, rinse off the jelly coating, and spread them on a tray. Either air-dry for a few days or put them in a low oven — under 75°C — until they're completely hard and brittle. Store in a sealed jar. Use a pepper grinder or spice grinder when you're ready. That's it.
Yes! They're good for your gut: The seeds contain fibre, monounsaturated fatty acids (the same fat profile as olive oil, pleasingly), and polyphenols and flavonoids with antioxidant properties. In the small amounts you'd use them as a condiment, they're a useful addition rather than a novelty.
The parasite thing: Across Central America, Southeast Asia, and parts of Africa - cultures with no contact with each other - papaya seeds have been used traditionally as an antiparasitic. The seeds contain a compound called carpaine, which appears to inhibit certain bacteria and parasites in the gut. The science is preliminary but the cross-cultural consistency is hard to ignore. It's one of those traditional uses that keeps nudging researchers toward a closer look. Not as far as the pumpkin seed worm connection - but there still.
A note: Keep it to around a teaspoon of dried seeds a day — more than that and your digestion will let you know about it. Not recommended during pregnancy, same as green papaya.
