Artocarpus heterophyllus

jackfruit

Jackfruit is in the mulberry and fig family, Moraceae, and is a large tropical fruit tree that grows up to 40 feet tall. Its origin is in the Western Ghats of India where it has been cultivated for 6000 years. Today it is grown for food mainly in South and Southeast Asia, areas in Africa, South America, Jamaica, and as a novelty in South Florida. Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit on the planet - maxing out at 100 lbs and growing up to 3 ft long and 2 ft in diameter!

Like breadfruit, its close relative, these trees are very productive with some varieties producing 100-200 fruits per tree over two harvest seasons during a year. They are a good crop for developing countries to provide food security as they are highly nutritious and easy to propagate. Recent press regards jackfruit as the next “miracle” crop to save millions of people from starvation. However, jackfruit has fallen out of favor in its homeland of India as it is stigmatized as a “poor man’s food” but efforts are underway to bring back its popularity as it is a highly valuable crop; one tree could provide a farmer with over half their monthly income.

As the National Fruit of Bangladesh, “kathal” as they are known, are a versatile fruit for cooking and eating fresh. The green, unripe fruits are made into savory dishes, curries, etc. and work well as a meat substitute. The fruit may also be dried, roasted, made into chips, jams, juices, and ice cream while the seeds may be boiled, roasted or made into flour. The seeds are high in protein, calcium, iron, and potassium while the flesh is high in Vitamin C and fiber.

Jackfruit wood is high quality & rot-resistant and is used to make furniture and musical instruments. The latex that is found within all tissues of the tree can be used as glue and the bark contains orange pigments that are traditionally used for dyeing monk’s robes.

If you have ever tried fresh jackfruit (or its close relative, durian) you know what an interesting aroma, flavor, and texture they have. The aroma of the fresh fruit can be off-putting as it is most often likened to onions but if you can get past that and break through the thick rind, the taste of the flesh is peachy-pear-pineapple goodness, like juicy fruit gum with a sticky, fleshy-chewy sometimes crunchy (depending on the variety) and almost stringy texture. It is impossible to describe and must be tried at least once for the spectacle of trying to pull the segments of sticky flesh surrounding the seeds out of the giant warty fruit. By oiling your hands, knife and cutting board before cutting up the fruit, you can avoid becoming glued to everything you touch.

Vegetarians and vegans have embraced jackfruit as a meat substitute and even omnivores are fooled by the texture. Below is a recipe from Casa Mexicana restaurant in the UK. In South and Southeast Asia there are numerous savory dishes created with jackfruit. If you don't have an Asian market nearby for a fresh jackfruit, it is often canned in sweet syrup for use in desserts and can be found at grocery stores.

BBQ Pulled Jackfruit – the guardian.com

2 jalapeños, finely chopped

2 tbsp vegetable oil

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp chilli powder

2 tsp cumin

0.5 tsp cayenne

500ml ketchup

125ml lime juice (more if you like it tangy)

1 cup dark brown sugar

4 tins of jackfruit in brine

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp dijon mustard

Fry the garlic & jalapeños in oil for a minute. Add all the spices, stir and cook until fragrant (a minute or so). Add ketchup, lime and brown sugar. Stir until all the sugar has melted. Partially cover and keep cooking on a low heat until sauce has thickened to the consistency of ketchup.

Drain and thoroughly rinse the tinned jackfruit. Use your hands to tear the strands of jackfruit from the harder core. The fruit will come apart very easily. Put the pulled jackfruit into a bowl and put the cores into another bowl. Once everything has been pulled apart use a knife to finely chop the harder cores. It doesn’t matter if these are still a bit chunky once chopped as it adds more texture to the dish.

Heat oil in pan and add the pulled jackfruit. Cook until it gets a bit grey and loses some moisture. Add the dijon mustard and stir in. Add a little water if it starts to stick to the pan.

Add about half the BBQ sauce (more if you want a very sticky dish) and stir in to coat. Cook until it’s almost starting to get a little crispy and sticking to the pan a little.

Spoon on top of warm corn tacos and top with lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, a squeeze of fresh lime and a sprinkle of coriander.