JESSAMINE CO., Ky. (LEX News) — A Jessamine County man has grown his love for Kentucky's native pawpaw fruit into an entire orchard, right in his front yard.
Matt Menegotto first tried a pawpaw in 2018 at a farmer's market in downtown Lexington.
"I was like, OK, well, what is this?" Menegotto said.
He didn't wonder for long. Menegotto started Hang Loose Pawpaw Patch in Wilmore, a name inspired by his love for Hawaii. Four years after planting 160 pawpaw trees, his orchard is producing fruit.
"It's pretty cool, being able to try your first fruit ever," he said.
Creamy and custard-like, with hints of banana, mango, and pineapple, the pawpaw is actually native to Kentucky and much of the eastern United States. Many of Menegotto's visitors come to the orchard chasing a childhood memory: eating wild pawpaws.
"They're like, well, this reminds me of my childhood, we can't find this anywhere," he said. "They're just like, thank you very much for bringing this back because it reminds me of when I was a kid."
The pawpaw has never gone mainstream, due to being fragile and spoiling quickly. But the fruit recently received a popularity boost. Last year, Ale-8 released a limited-edition flavor inspired by what's often called the Kentucky banana.
Menegotto is now dreaming of other possible pawpaw products, from beer to ice cream.
Until then, he's welcoming visitors off a 200-person wait list onto his property and teaching them the art of eating a pawpaw properly.
"Pawpaw is a lot like a banana, in the sense of you might not like your banana like I like my banana," he explained.
