Rocky Point Blueberry Farm switches their produce of choice for the fall season from a summer berry to a sweet, tropical fruit.

Pawpaws, a fruit native to the forest fringes of the Midwest and parts of the South, resemble mangoes, with six large, brown seeds surrounded by a yellow, creamy flesh the consistency of a firm custard. The pawpaw has a tropical flavor, which is described on the farm’s website as a combination of mango, pineapple and banana.

Nancy Cornish, her son, Stephen, and daughter-in-law Sonya purchased the 9-acre property in 2020. The farm includes a 2.5-acre blueberry patch and a pawpaw orchard of about 50 fruit-producing trees.

The farm collects ripe pawpaws from the orchard, after they’ve self-released from the trees and fallen to the ground, multiple times per day. The family then organizes the pawpaws based on size and separates the fruit into approximately 30 2-lb bags to be sold three times a week at the farm stand.

Cornish calls pawpaws “America’s forgotten fruit” because they have a short shelf life that deters supermarkets from carrying them. She suggests using pawpaw in smoothies, ice cream, cocktails, yogurt bowls and desserts. The skin and seeds of the pawpaw are inedible, so Corish recommends cutting it open like an avocado and scooping out the pudding-like fruit with a spoon.

The farm stand is open on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. through the end of the season, which is mid-to-late October depending on the longevity of the harvest. Available for purchase are fresh pawpaws, frozen pawpaw pulp and some pawpaw trees on Saturdays depending on availability. Cash only.

Pawpaw lovers from all over the region come to the Rocky Point Blueberry Farm each fall to get their hands on the exclusive fruit. Cornish says customers will drive hours to the farm or, in rare occasions, even travel by airplane. The farm often gets requests to ship pawpaws across the country, but Cornish declines due to their short shelf life.

“One you love them, you love them,” said Cornish, who emphasized customers’ commitment to the pawpaw harvest.

Running the farm stand Monday was Sonya, accompanied by her mother, who is visiting from Oklahoma. The sweet scent of the pawpaws wafted from the pile of bags at the stand all the way to the farm’s entrance.

Sonya says that on Saturdays, the line can get up to 60 customers long and often they’ll run out of pawpaws to sell. “I recommend they show up early,” she said.

Cornish says they usually sell out within 15-20 minutes of opening. They do not do any shipping, reserving or advance orders. Rocky Point Blueberry Farm is at 130 Rocky Point Ave. in Warwick.

Later this month, the farm will host their annual Halloween Pumpkin Walk. Families can stroll on a path that winds through the property, illuminated by more than 250 hand-carved pumpkins and candles from Oct. 23-26. Tickets and more information can be found online at www.rockypointblueberries.com