Pet & Animal: How to Eat Papaya Seeds

Papaya seeds have recently caught attention as a potential health food, and while much of the evidence supporting the notion is unverified, the seeds are nontoxic and might be worth trying just in case. You can eat papaya seeds by treating them as a supplement and eating them whole, or you could grind the seeds up and use them when you would usually use pepper since the two tastes are fairly similar.

Steps

Eat as a Raw Supplement

Choose a small papaya. Smaller papayas tend to have seeds with a milder taste, while the seeds of a large papaya tend to be more bitter.
- As you grow accustomed to the taste of papaya seeds, you can begin getting larger fruits instead of searching out small ones all the time. Starting with small papayas can help you get used to the flavor, though.

Chew directly on a few seeds.^[1] Papaya seeds can be eaten whole, but for the first week or so, only chew on one or two papaya seeds a day. If you eat too many at once, you could end up overwhelming your tastebuds and digestive system.
- The bitter, pepper-like taste of papaya seeds can be overwhelming at first, and if you rush yourself too quickly and eat too many at once, you might become discouraged from eating any more.
- Additionally, while papaya seeds are safe to eat, consuming anything in large quantities when your stomach is not accustomed to it can cause digestive upset. Starting slowly is the best way to avoid or minimize this upset.

Work your way up to a larger amount. Over the second week, gradually work up to 1/4 tsp (1.25 ml), then to 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml), and finally to a full 1 tsp (5 ml) daily.
- Make things even easier on your digestive system by taking the papaya seeds with a meal heavy in protein. Doing so will make it easier to get the maximum amount of benefits from the proteolytic enzymes in the seeds, thereby improving your digestive health.

Try eating the seeds with honey. If the stronger, bitter taste of papaya seed proves too strong for you, you could try taking whole papaya seeds with 1 tsp (5 ml) of honey to lessen the effect.
- When taking papaya seeds with honey, you should still chew the seeds a few times before swallowing them.
- Additionally, the combination of honey and papaya seeds is thought to be an effective treatment against parasites, so taking your papaya seeds with honey has possible health benefits, as well.

Use as a Replacement for Pepper

Crush the seeds. Use a mortar and pestle to crush up to 1 tsp (5 ml) of papaya seeds at a time, grinding them into a fine or coarse powder.
- Alternatively, you could add the clean, dry seeds directly to your pepper grinder instead of using a mortar and pestle, if desired.
- For best results, opt for freshly crushed papaya seeds instead of seeds that were crushed some time ago.

Use crushed papaya seed whenever you would use crushed peppercorn. Crushed papaya seeds work well as a substitute for black pepper and can be used in equal proportions.
- Note that the taste of papaya seeds is not exactly like pepper. Some have compared it to a blend between pepper and mustard, but when used in small quantities, the difference is not usually enough to negatively affect the food you use it on as a pepper substitute.

Try seasoning meat with papaya seeds. One great way to use peppery papaya seeds is to season steak, chicken, or pork with the crushed seeds before you cook the meat.
- For instance, you could crush 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) of papaya seeds and use them to season a single serving size steak. Rub the crushed seeds on the steak and let it sit for an hour before pan-frying in a little olive oil.
- The papain in papaya seeds acts as a meat tenderizer. The flavor itself adds flavor to the meat, and it can also help you digest the steak after it gets into your stomach.

Make a papaya seed salad dressing. Another popular way to use papaya seeds is to mix them into a vinaigrette dressing, similar to the manner in which you might prepare a pepper vinaigrette.
- For one version of papaya seed dressing, use 1 Tbsp (15 ml) papaya seeds, 1/4 cup (60 ml) papaya fruit, 1/4 cup (60 ml) red onion, 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh cilantro, 1 clove garlic, 5 tsp (25 ml) ginger, 2 Tbsp (30 ml) apple cider vinegar, the juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp (5 ml) honey, 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil, 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) sea salt, and a pinch of chili pepper flakes if desired.^[2]
- Blend all of the ingredients, minus the oil, in a blender until they form a liquid.
- Slowly pour the olive oil into the blender or food processor as it runs to blend it in thoroughly.
- This recipe produces 1 cup (250 ml) of papaya seed dressing. You can store it sealed and chilled for up to one week.

Additional Usage and Storage Notes

Note the health benefits of papaya seed. Now that you know how to eat papaya seeds, you might still be wondering why you should.
- For starters, papaya seeds contain high levels of oleic and palmitic acids. Both are believed to help protect your body against cancer.^[3]
- In traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine, papaya seeds are used to detoxify and strengthen the liver.^[4]
- The flavonoids in papaya seeds are believed to help prevent germs from causing infections and are also thought to protect the kidneys.
- In one study done with Nigerian children, 76.7 percent of the children got rid of intestinal parasites after consuming papaya seeds daily for one week.^[5]

Scoop the seeds out of a fresh papaya. The simplest, most effective way to get papaya seeds would be to buy or harvest fresh papaya and to scoop the seeds out of the fruit with a metal spoon.
- After digging the seeds out with a spoon, spread them out on one half of a clean tea or dish towel. Fold the towel over to sandwich them in the middle and rub the seeds quickly to remove any remaining, attached pieces of fruit.
- Place the seeds in a colander and rinse them under running water. Spread them out flat near a windowsill to dry in the sunlight for a few days.
- You could also dry the seeds using a dehydrator. Follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully to avoid drying the seeds out too quickly or not thoroughly enough. When using a dehydrator, however, the total amount of necessary drying time is usually cut from days to hours.

Store an excess in the freezer. If you do not plan on eating or using all your papaya seeds within the first few days, you should place them in a freezer-safe, airtight container and store the seeds in a freezer.
- If you eat papaya seeds on a fairly consistent basis, you can store them in the refrigerator instead of relying on the freezer. If you do not think that you can go through your papaya seeds within a week or so, though, it is best to freeze some.
- When kept frozen, papaya seeds can retain their nutritional value for 6 to 12 months.
- Defrost the seeds in the refrigerator overnight before use. Alternatively, you could soak frozen seeds in hot water for a few minutes until they soften.

Avoid adding them to smoothies or similarly sweet foods. Even though you could technically use papaya seeds in a smoothie, many people agree that the bitter, pepper-like taste tends to be a fairly unappetizing addition.^[6]
- Additionally, in low quality blenders, papaya seeds may not be thoroughly ground. A mortar and pestle, food processor, or pepper grinder are your best options if you want to pulverize papaya seeds.