A whole Jackfruit!!
Jackfruit is commonly seen in the continent of Asia. Here in the West, the jackfruit is still widely unknown. However, this fruit is sold in some Asian markets and specialty stores. Read on to learn more about this unknown and mysterious fruit.
The jackfruit is believed indigenous to the rain forests of the Western Ghats of India. It spread early on to other parts of India, southeast Asia, the East Indies and ultimately the Philippines. It is often planted in central and eastern Africa and is fairly popular in Brazil and Surinam. Jackfruit is adapted to humid tropical and near-tropical climates. Mature trees have survived temperatures of about 27° F in southern Florida, but these were frozen to large limbs. Young trees are likely to be killed at temperatures below 32°F. There are only a dozen or so bearing jackfruit trees today in southern Florida, and these are valued mainly as curiosities. There are also several trees planted in the Asian exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. What they will do or how high they will grow remains a question. The tree is too large to make a suitable container-grown plant.
The leaves are oblong, oval, or elliptic in form, 4 to 6 inches in length, leathery, glossy, and deep green in color. Juvenile leaves are lobed. Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, reaching 80 pounds in weight and up to 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter. The exterior of the compound fruit is green or yellow when ripe. The interior consists of large edible bulbs of yellow, banana-flavored flesh that encloses a smooth, oval, light-brown seed. There may be 100 or up to 500 seeds in a single fruit, which are viable for no more than three or four days. When fully ripe, the unopened jackfruit emits a strong disagreeable odor, resembling that of decayed onions, while the pulp of the opened fruit smells of pineapple and banana.
Enormous and prickly on the outside, the jackfruit looks somewhat like durian, which is a fruit widely known as the “king of fruits” in Asia. Once a jackfruit is cracked open, you will find pods or “bulbs”. Mostly thought of as seeds, these pods are actually a fleshy covering for the true seed or the pit. The fleshy part, or the bulb, can be eaten raw, or cut up and cooked. When the jackfruit is unripe, it is astonishingly similar in texture to chicken. This makes jackfruit an exemplary vegetarian alternative for meat. Canned jackfruit (in brine) is sometimes designated as “vegetable meat”. So, if any vegetarians want to be like other people who are non-vegetarians, they can use jackfruit.
Jackfruit has many uses, especially in Asian areas. Soon enough, the jackfruit will start coming to light in a few years at our place, the West. Get yourself ready for the jackfruit!
The jackfruit is believed indigenous to the rain forests of the Western Ghats of India. It spread early on to other parts of India, southeast Asia, the East Indies and ultimately the Philippines. It is often planted in central and eastern Africa and is fairly popular in Brazil and Surinam. Jackfruit is adapted to humid tropical and near-tropical climates. Mature trees have survived temperatures of about 27° F in southern Florida, but these were frozen to large limbs. Young trees are likely to be killed at temperatures below 32°F. There are only a dozen or so bearing jackfruit trees today in southern Florida, and these are valued mainly as curiosities. There are also several trees planted in the Asian exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. What they will do or how high they will grow remains a question. The tree is too large to make a suitable container-grown plant.
The leaves are oblong, oval, or elliptic in form, 4 to 6 inches in length, leathery, glossy, and deep green in color. Juvenile leaves are lobed. Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, reaching 80 pounds in weight and up to 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter. The exterior of the compound fruit is green or yellow when ripe. The interior consists of large edible bulbs of yellow, banana-flavored flesh that encloses a smooth, oval, light-brown seed. There may be 100 or up to 500 seeds in a single fruit, which are viable for no more than three or four days. When fully ripe, the unopened jackfruit emits a strong disagreeable odor, resembling that of decayed onions, while the pulp of the opened fruit smells of pineapple and banana.
Enormous and prickly on the outside, the jackfruit looks somewhat like durian, which is a fruit widely known as the “king of fruits” in Asia. Once a jackfruit is cracked open, you will find pods or “bulbs”. Mostly thought of as seeds, these pods are actually a fleshy covering for the true seed or the pit. The fleshy part, or the bulb, can be eaten raw, or cut up and cooked. When the jackfruit is unripe, it is astonishingly similar in texture to chicken. This makes jackfruit an exemplary vegetarian alternative for meat. Canned jackfruit (in brine) is sometimes designated as “vegetable meat”. So, if any vegetarians want to be like other people who are non-vegetarians, they can use jackfruit.
Jackfruit has many uses, especially in Asian areas. Soon enough, the jackfruit will start coming to light in a few years at our place, the West. Get yourself ready for the jackfruit!
Inside of the Jackfruit, the yellow stuff is the fruit part!!