Can I only buy it in season?
It is listed as a year-round fruit. What a stall actually sells, including variety and stock, still varies, so compare whole fruit and prepared fruit separately.
Papaya
Papaya · มะละกอ
If you have had som tam in Thailand, try ripe papaya too. Unlike the green papaya used in som tam, the ripe flesh is eaten soft and sweet. Cut it in half, scoop out the black seeds and eat the flesh. When you choose cut fruit, look for ripe papaya.
Papaya cut half · Maksym Kozlenko · CC BY-SA 4.0
Resized for display · Photo provided under CC BY-SA 4.0
When is the best time to eat it?
Available year-round
Listed as available year-round
Use the main harvest period, or the harvest window for a regional fruit, as a guide. Actual availability can change with growing region, variety and weather.
What does it taste like?
Ripe papaya is a fruit where you enjoy the soft flesh. Unripe papaya is also used as an ingredient in dishes, so the texture is different from eating it as fruit.
Why this fruit is known in Thailand
It is a familiar fruit through som tam, the green papaya salad. In Thailand you can learn about both ways of eating ripe fruit and ways of using unripe fruit in food.
Buying basics
- Thai name
- มะละกอ
- Harvest period
- Available year-round
- How to buy
- Choose after telling apart ripe papaya to eat as fruit from green papaya for cooking. Whole fruit and prepared packs may be sold in different price units.
How to prepare and eat it
- Wash a ripe papaya and cut it in half.
- Scoop out the black seeds in the middle, peel the rind and eat the flesh.
- Green papaya and ripe papaya are eaten differently, so pick the one to eat right away.
Price reference
Bangkok retail prices · October 14, 2026
These are prices by variety and grade surveyed by Thailand's Department of Internal Trade. They do not apply to every street vendor.
| Fruit and variety | Price | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Papaya · Holland (ฮอลแลนด์) | 40–60 baht | 1 kg |
Keep the price of a bag or tray of cut fruit separate from the per-kilogram price of whole fruit. In this survey, bananas are priced per bunch.
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare a per-kilogram price with a price per pack?
Choose after telling apart ripe papaya to eat as fruit from green papaya for cooking. Whole fruit and prepared packs may be sold in different price units.
Keep exploring
Official sources and references
If you want to read more about the food and the regions behind it, these sources are a good place to start. Ingredients and recipes can vary from one restaurant to the next.
Sharing image credit: Maksym Kozlenko · CC BY-SA 4.0