Brilio.net - Papaya trees are a plant that has many benefits. Starting from the fruit, leaves, even flowers can be consumed. Even though the leaves and flowers are known to have a bitter taste, many people still process these two ingredients.
After investigating, the bitter taste in papaya flowers comes from the enzyme papain. To reduce the bitter taste, some people usually boil papaya flowers with a mixture of tamarind or clay. These two ingredients are thought to neutralize the bitter taste of papaya flowers.
Apart from these two ingredients, there are also other simple ingredients that can be used to remove the bitter taste of papaya flowers. A TikTok user @inibellinda93 showed it in one of her video uploads. Instead of adding tamarind or clay, he seemed to put three kitchen ingredients into the boiled papaya flower water. Are you curious about the ingredients?
How to get rid of bitter papaya flowers.
Reported by BrilioFood from TikTok @inibellinda93, first pour water into the pan then bring to a boil. After that, just add the papaya flowers that have been washed clean. Not only that, he also added used oil or what is usually called used cooking water to the boiled water.
photo: TikTok/@inibellinda93
After that, he also added several guava leaves. According to him, this is the main key to eliminating the bitter taste of papaya flowers. Before stirring, he added 1 tablespoon of salt to the cooking water. So, the three kitchen ingredients used are used cooking oil, guava leaves and salt.
photo: TikTok/@inibellinda93
Cover the pan then boil the papaya flowers until cooked and tender. When it is cooked, drain the papaya flowers from the cooking water. Set aside a few guava leaves in it.
photo: TikTok/@inibellinda93
Finally, rinse the boiled papaya flowers with running water. Then drain until the water content is gone. Ripe papaya flowers can be consumed directly or processed into cooking.
photo: TikTok/@inibellinda93
Easy way to pick papaya flowers on a tree.
Picking papaya flowers is actually quite easy to do. Here are the methods you can follow:
1. Identify flowers that are ready to be picked.
Identify papaya flowers that are ready to be picked. Usually, flowers that are ready to be picked are those that have started to fully bloom and look fresh.
2. Prepare the necessary tools.
Prepare garden scissors or a small knife that is clean and sharp. Make sure the tools are sterile so they don't transmit disease to the plants.
3. Choose the right time.
The best time to pick papaya flowers is in the morning after the morning dew has evaporated. At this time, the papaya flowers are still fresh and have not been exposed to the hot sun.
4. Choose flowers with long stems.
Choose papaya flowers whose stems are long enough. This makes it easier for you to cut without damaging or squeezing the flower part to be picked.
5. Cut carefully.
Use garden shears or a small knife to carefully cut the papaya flower stem. Cut the stem making sure not to damage the leaves or other parts of the papaya tree.
By following the steps above, you can pick papaya flowers easily and ensure the quality is maintained.