Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Papain cleaves muscle fibres, which is why the fruit softens stews. The figure is taken from American Chemical Society, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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Mondo Knows Facts

Papaya enzymes break down meat proteins

Papain cleaves muscle fibres, which is why the fruit softens stews Papain is a protein splitting enzyme found in papaya latex, and it attacks the connective tissue and muscle fibres in meat. Traditional cooks wrap tough cuts in papaya leaves or rub the fruit on them before cooking, a technique used across the tropics. The enzyme works best at warm temperatures and is destroyed by heat, so it must act before the meat starts to cook. It sits in Mondo's food collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

American Chemical Society

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Nature & Animals trivia

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Tags: papaya, enzymes, tenderising

Papaya enzymes break down meat proteins: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Papain cleaves muscle fibres, which is why the fruit softens stews. The figure is taken from American Chemical Society, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.