GEOFF BENNETT: Apples, oranges and bananas# are sold in abundance in supermarkets across## the country, but some say the most American# fruit is one you will likely never see in## the produce department, and it's one you# have probably never heard of, the pawpaw.

Our Deema Zein bits into the long# history of this forgotten fruit.

DEEMA ZEIN: In Southeast Ohio, a# 27-year tradition has taken root,## an annual celebration of a little-known# fruit with a cult following.

CHRIS CHMIEL, Founder, Ohio Pawpaw Festival:# Have you had a pawpaw?

Here in Appalachia,## the pawpaw is sort of like, I'd say# one of the stars of the native plants## that we have.

There's a seed in there.

DEEMA ZEIN: Chris Chmiel is the founder## of the Ohio Pawpaw Festival, where this star is# center stage in events like the pawpaw cook-off.

MAN: I'm kind of struggling with# picking up on notes of pawpaw.

DEEMA ZEIN: And a range of pawpaw-inspired swag## and refreshments from pawpaw T-shirts# and pottery to pawpaw beer and even... WOMAN: A pawpaw iced matcha latte with oat milk.

DEEMA ZEIN: For Chmiel, the festival is meant## in part to spread the word about# this lesser known native fruit.

CHRIS CHMIEL: When somebody gets# a chance to eat a pawpaw at the## right time and they have that initial# like, whoa, it's just a good hook.

DEEMA ZEIN: That instant surprise comes from# an unexpected taste that many find hard to peg.

WOMAN: I would describe the taste# of a pawpaw kind of like a mango.

WOMAN: Maybe with a little# bit of papaya or stone fruit.

MAN: Like fresh grapes off of a vine.

MAN: Nature's own banana mango smoothie.

CHRIS CHMIEL: I describe the pawpaw flavors as## a tropical custard because there's# a lot of diversity in the flavors,## and that has to do with genetics, but# also ripeness and where they're grown.

DEEMA ZEIN: This tropical tasting fruit grows# wild across a vast stretch of the Eastern United## States from the Panhandle of Florida and up into# Michigan.

Eaten and celebrated by Native American## tribes, there's evidence that indigenous people# are responsible for the abundance of pawpaw today.

ANDREW MOORE, Author, "Pawpaw: In Search of# America's Forgotten Fruit": There's thought## that people in the O.. good-tasting pawpaw for thousands of# years and perhaps that is the reason## why some of the best pawpaws came from the# Ohio River Valley and parts of the Midwest.

DEEMA ZEIN: Andrew Moore is the author of "Pawpaw:# In Search of America's Forgotten Fruit."

He says## the pawpaw was also prized by iconic early# Americans.

It helped sustain Lewis and Clark## on their journey West, and George Washington# grew the pawpaw on his Mount Vernon estate.

ANDREW MOORE: One could make the argument# that the pawpaw is the most American fruit.## It's been here for millions of years.# It's indigenous to this place.

People## have been naming places after the pawpaw and# writing songs and poems about the pawpaw.

This is where I had my very first pawpaw ever.

DEEMA ZEIN: Moore got his first taste of this# fringe fruit at the Ohio Pawpaw Festival 15## years ago.

Before then, he'd never heard# of it, like most Americans these days.

ANDREW MOORE: Generations ago, we could go out# into the woods and our parents knew where the## pawpaw patches were, our grandparents knew# where the pawpaw patches were.

But at some## point in the 20th century, we stopped going# to the woods for our food.

We started getting## most of our food from supermarkets and# the food system became very industrial.

DEEMA ZEIN: That transition away from foraging# our food led to the downfall of the pawpaw,## which has a short shelf life and is# more fragile compared to other fruits.

ANDREW MOORE: But I don't think those# are reasons to say that the pawpaw can## never be brought to the people.

We bring all# kinds of fragile, short-shelf-life fruits to## markets.

And one of the things I have begun to# think about with the pawpaw is that it's just## something we haven't gotten around to doing yet# in terms of incorporating into our food system.

Oh, yes.

DEEMA ZEIN: Moore, who grows pawpaws and# sells them to his lo.. says that research, currently under way# at schools like Kentucky State University,## could help develop a breed of# pawpaw suitable for market shelves.

But, for now, part of the pawpaw's charm is# that you can't find it in most grocery stores.

ANDREW MOORE: You still have to# go to the land to get this fruit,## or you have to have a connection to community,# to other people around you to find this fruit.## It is nice that there is this fruit that can still# bring people closer to each other and to the land.

DEEMA ZEIN: In the meantime, festivals like# this have popped up around the country.

MAN: Of what avail are school taxes if the young# people are not taught the glories of the pawpaw?

DEEMA ZEIN: Making sure this# beloved American fruit lives on.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Deema Zein.

GEOFF BENNETT: And there is more online,## including more on what people say pawpaws# taste like.

That's on our ..