Pawpaw Takes Spotlight as Maryland TV Segment Points Viewers to Kentucky State Expertise

WMDT’s Charlie Paparella highlighted the University’s pawpaw resources, including recipes that help more people enjoy the native fruit

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Maryland television segment has brought new attention to the research, growing information, and recipes available through Kentucky State University’s world-renowned pawpaw program.

WMDT 47 ABC in Salisbury, Maryland, featured the pawpaw in a June 30 “Back on the Road with Charlie Paparella” segment, “Charlie Paparella Walks Among the Paw Paw Trees.” Filmed in Bridgeville, Delaware, the feature follows Paparella along a pawpaw patch as he introduces viewers to the native fruit, its growing season, and the curiosity that continues to surround it.

Along the way, Paparella points viewers to Kentucky State University as a resource for preparing pawpaw fruit, noting that the University has “a good selection of recipes” for those ready to move from finding pawpaws to using them in the kitchen.

That brief mention connects to a much larger story at Kentucky State. The University has the only full-time pawpaw research program in the world as part of its 1890 Land-Grant Program. Led by Dr. Kirk W. Pomper, professor of horticulture and longtime pawpaw researcher, the program advances work in pawpaw propagation methods, orchard management recommendations, regional variety trials, fruit ripening and storage techniques, and the collection and characterization of pawpaw germplasm.

Last summer, that work also reached consumers through a Kentucky partnership with Ale-8-One. The Winchester-based bottling company launched Pawpaw Ale-8 in August 2025 as a limited-edition seasonal flavor offering developed in collaboration with Kentucky State’s Pawpaw Research Program. The beverage celebrated Kentucky’s native tropical fruit while showcasing how University research can move from field and lab to products enjoyed across the Commonwealth.

Known scientifically as Asimina triloba, pawpaw has drawn attention because of its distinctive flavor, often described as tropical, with notes similar to banana, mango, and pineapple. For growers, the fruit offers fresh-market and processing potential. For home cooks, its custard-like pulp lends itself to breads, cookies, cakes, ice cream, puddings, milkshakes, and other recipes.

Kentucky State’s online pawpaw resources help bridge those worlds. Visitors can find growing information, frequently asked questions, planting guidance, research materials, licensed propagator information for KSU-trademarked cultivars, and a recipe collection that introduces users to practical ways to prepare pawpaw fruit.

One featured recipe, Pawpaw Bread, uses pawpaw pulp in a quick bread with pecans. The recipe combines butter, sugar, eggs, pawpaw pulp, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, and pecans, then bakes the mixture in two loaf pans. A second version of pawpaw bread on the University recipe page suggests serving slices buttered or with cream cheese.

At the Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm, Kentucky State also maintains a clonal germplasm repository for pawpaw. The collection includes more than 2,000 accessions from 17 states planted across 12 acres, supporting the University’s research and preservation of genetic diversity in Asimina species.

Segments such as Paparella’s reflect the broader interest in a fruit that grows quietly along creeks and streams yet continues to capture public curiosity. From foragers to orchardists to home bakers, pawpaw connects place, flavor, memory, and science in a way few crops do.

For Kentucky State, that attention reinforces the reach of its land-grant mission. A Maryland television segment can lead viewers back to research in Frankfort, where University scientists, Extension personnel, and program staff continue helping people understand, grow, and enjoy a fruit deeply rooted in the eastern United States.

Watch WMDT’s “Charlie Paparella Walks Among the Paw Paw Trees,” learn more about the Kentucky State University Pawpaw Program, explore pawpaw recipes and uses, read more about Dr. Kirk W. Pomper’s recognition as a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science, and revisit the launch of Pawpaw Ale-8.