Tool 07Papaya
Papain
A protease that comes from papaya.
Workbench
- Works on
- Proteins
- Leaves
- Shorter protein pieces
- Made by
- Papayas, especially the milky sap of unripe fruit.
- Works in
- Papaya.
- Sound
- SNIP!
On the bench
Papain (Papaya)
A stretch of muscle protein
lysineglutamateleucineargininealanineglycinemethionine
Pick a link and cut it with the papaya.
How it works
Papain is a protease from papaya. There’s most of it in the milky sap of the green, unripe fruit.
It’s the working part of many powdered meat tenderisers: sprinkle it on, and it starts snipping the meat’s proteins before the pan does.
AnnouncerHalf a papaya, drawn sideways. It is not winking at you.
Far-out fact
Papain is why some meat tenderisers work: it snips meat proteins before you cook.
On the menu
- Papaya
Starring inEP 4 Snip Snip Hooray
Where it clocks in
The rest of the kit
Amylase
Lipase
Lactase
Alpha-galactosidase
BromelainSome food has no tool at all. That’s the buffet.
Coming up next on Channel GG
Bile
Your body’s own soap. Breaks fat into droplets for lipase.
