Papaya vs. Mango?

Papaya vs. Mango. It’s easy to confuse these fruits with each other – they’re both bright sunny colored, grow in tropical areas and taste delicious. But papayas and mangos are completely different.

Papayas are squash-shaped fruit with bright yellow-green skin, vibrant orange flesh, and lots of black seeds in the center. While mangos are smaller with a gradient of red, green and yellow skin. Mangos have golden yellow flesh and just one large, flat seed in the center.

Today, both fruits are grown in Central America, but papayas are native to this area. Mangos were originally from Asia, and the seeds were brought to the Americas to cultivate the fruit.

Their taste is quite different, as well. Ripe mangos are deliciously sweet with complex spicy and floral flavors, depending on the variety. While papayas have a very creamy, slightly sweet flesh with a musky taste. Both fruits lend themselves well to desserts, salads, and in savory applications.

Both fruits have similar vitamins and nutrients when comparing just one cup of each fruit.

Information from United States Department of Agriculture.

While both fruits are unique and delicious by themselves, they also taste great together. Try our Mango and Green Papaya Salad for an innovative use of papaya in its “green” or unripe form.