Way down yonder in the Pawpaw patch

When I was a little girl, my maternal great grandmother used to sing various songs throughout the day. One of the lines she often sang was to the tune of Ten Little Indians and was the chorus from a folk song called The Pawpaw Patch. The chorus was:

"Picking up pawpaws putting them in your pocket

Picking up pawpaws putting them in your pocket

Picking up pawpaws putting them in your pocket

Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch"

The full lyrics of the song are:

"Where, oh, where is sweet little Nellie?

Where, oh, where is sweet little Nellie?

Where, oh, where is sweet little Nellie?

Way down yonder in the paw paw patch

Come on, boys and let's go find her

Come on, boys and let's go find her

Come on, boys and let's go find her

Way down yonder in the paw paw patch

Pickin' up paw paws, put 'em in your pocket

Pickin' up paw paws, put 'em in your pocket

Pickin' up paw paws, put 'em in your pocket

Way down yonder in the paw paw patch"

In some versions of the song the name Nellie is changed to Susie

I often wondered, but never asked great-grandma what a pawpaw was, why anyone would put them in their pockets or where I could find a patch full of them. I had assumed that a pawpaw was some type of currency like a penny, nickle or dime but I was wrong. I had not thought of this song in decades until a few nights ago as I was watching reruns of the television series THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. Granny Moses had mentioned having owl soup, deviled buzzard eggs, and pickled pawpaws for dinner.

This does not sound very appetizing at all but goes along with the theme of this television show where the characters are from the Tennesse hills and still eat their country meals although they now reside in Beverly Hills, California. awpaws are a real fruit with a flavor that is custard- like similar to that of a banana or a mango. This may sound tropical but, fruit is indigenous to the Mid-Atlantic.

Pawpaws have a sweet taste and if you are interested in trying to make deviled pawpaw eggs you can try the recipe by clicking on the following link Pawpaws are eaten raw, but also used to make baked desserts and ice cream. A word of caution, however, because this fruit, its leaves, and bark are all documented as containing the neurotoxin annonacin, which could cause neurodegeneration which is the decline of the brain cells. I cannot imagine anyone putting such a large fruit in their pocket but perhaps back in the day this was the only way pawpaws could be transported.

The flowers of the pawpaw plant are a rich red-purple or maroon color when they mature and have 3 sepals and six petals. They are about 1–2 in (3–5 cm) across in size. Pawpaws are borne singly on stout, hairy, axillary peduncles. The flowers are produced in early spring at the same time as or just before new leaves appear. They have a faint smell that is fetid or yeasty. Pawpaws can be found growing in 25 eastern US states and Ontario, Canada.

This fruit thrives in river-bottom land where the soil is deep, fertile, and moist. Pawpaws are most often found growing in clumps and thickets. They are a large fruit that is yellowish-green to brown in color. The pawpaw belongs to the genus Asimina and is within the same plant family (the Annonaceae) as the custard-apple, sweetsop, soursop, cherimoya, and ylang-ylang, In my opinion, they look like large baking potatoes or huge pears.