Maria's Joy Pawpaw

Maria's Joy is a selection bred by the late Jerry Lehman of Terre Haute, Indiana, one of the most respected independent pawpaw breeders of recent decades, from a deliberate cross of the older Davis and Prolific varieties, carrying the breeding designation 166-13. Several nursery sources consistently document that it was named in honor of Maria Plekhanovna, who served as a guide for Jerry Lehman and five other American fruit explorers during a 1991 expedition through the former Soviet Union — a specific, detailed account repeated across multiple independent sources, though at least one other source instead attributes the name simply to Lehman's wife, Maria, so the exact story carries a small amount of genuine uncertainty. The variety won recognition at the 2012 Ohio Pawpaw Festival, cited by different sources as either "Best Fruit" or the "Biggest Pawpaw Contest," and at least one well-known pawpaw author has reportedly called it the best-tasting pawpaw he has ever had. The fruit is medium to large and kidney-shaped, typically weighing 8 to 14 ounces but capable of reaching a full pound, with yellow, buttery, custard-like flesh. Tasters consistently describe a complex banana-mango-pineapple flavor with a distinctive, recognizable "bubblegum" note that sets it apart from many other pawpaw varieties. It ripens mid-to-late in the pawpaw season and bears reliably heavy annual crops once established. Bred in the North, it has a real reputation for strong cold tolerance and has reportedly performed well even in cooler, marginal pawpaw climates such as the United Kingdom.