Followers

Follow on Bloglovin

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

W/W - Jackfruit

For those from the colder climates who may not have seen this weird looking fruit, this is a jackfruit or nangka in Malay.
According to Wikipedia, the jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit reaching as much as 80 pounds (36 kg) in weight and up to 36 inches (90 cm) long and 20 inches (50 cm) in diameter. It looks somewhat like a durian minus the thorns.


Inside the rough exterior are yellowish, fleshy bulbs that some say, taste like a cross between a banana, pineapple and mango. The seeds can be eaten! Roasted or boiled in salt water, the cooked seeds taste like chestnuts.


Extracting the bulbs from the fibrous rind is a messy and sticky business as the fruit excretes an extremely adhesive latex substance that is difficult to remove. You have to first coat your hands and knife with coconut oil.

I've never bought an entire unopened jackfruit. I buy the flesh, cleaned and packed from the supermarkets. For those who have never attempted opening the enormous fruit, you probably need an instructions manual to disassemble the bulbs which are embedded in a fibrous mess of sticky filaments that look like the intestinal villi of an alien creature. You can't just yank the bulbs out - you need to detach them with an oiled knife or scissors and there may be as many as 100 to 500 edible bulbs in a single fruit.

Warning - Never ever do this while wearing your favourite clothes!

37 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by my blog! :) Your blog is so interesting and pretty! :) You have a new follower! Please feel free to follow me back. I'd love to make some new blogger buddies. -- I look forward to reading more of your posts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an interesting fruit! I wasn't aware of it but always welcome the new knowledge so thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have seen Jackfruit. We were at a Tequila factory in Mexico and they were showing us their plants on the grounds. There was a Jackfruit tree.

    When we were in Las Vegas, we went to an Asian Market and they were selling Jackfruit. We didn't buy it whole, but found a can of it to try. Yuck!! Don't like canned jackfruit. Maybe fresh is good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very interesting, who knew a fruit could be so big. I wonder if they make a jack fruit juice, sounds like a yummy mixer lol.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, that's so neat! I love pineapple, banana and mango, so I'm thinking the jackfruit must be pretty delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's a pretty fruit! I so want to try it! We love new foods here. Everyone except Isaak. The boys are pretty good eaters.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow! I'll have to get some jackfruit next time I'm shopping in Chinatown. I'm glad they process it for their customers; it doesn't sound like fun to tackle that task yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have never seen or heard of it how interesting I love chestnuts too LOL

    Have a jackfruitlicious week :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting! A new experience for me.
    Have seen the fruits, but never tasted.
    I prefer buying at the market - next time in Asia....

    ReplyDelete
  10. so interesting! I would love to try it! 100-500 edible bulbs in a single fruit....wow!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you so much for your kind comment on my Snowed River photo. :) That is a giant fruit! Looks like it would feed an army. Great photos. I hope to taste it some day. Looks delicious. Have a wonderful WW!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Where do you find all these pictures, they are so awesome!

    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oi! so wonderful and very exotic for me from cold Norway.
    Good Wednesday from Marit.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I grew up in Trinidad and they called that fruit Shatine I think.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow! I have never seen or heard of this fruit before -- it is astounding.

    Happy Wednesday!
    :-)
    Traci

    ReplyDelete
  16. I can't imagine a fruit growing so giant!! Wow!

    Thanks for linking up for WW :)

    Paula
    lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. What an interesting piece of fruit! Happy Wednesday!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, never even heard of this fruit! Thanks for informing me. And thanks for linking up with me at NanaHood.com!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love jackfruit and the boiled seed, I found out recently that they contain more anti-oxidants and good stuff than the fruit itself :)
    Thank you for visiting us at pret-a-vivre.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I've never heard of a Jack Fruit. Thanks for linking up!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I have never seen one, but I liked reading about it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I have seen this fruit but not cut open, I would have never thought it was so difficult to handle and what it would be like. Thanks for sharing, Hope you will be able to stop by WW this week
    Miniature Purses WW w/Linky

    ReplyDelete
  23. We've never seen anything like this and neither has our mom. Is the fruit ever exported? Purrs and hugs from the kitties at www.thecatonmyhead.com, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fascinating fruit! I want to taste it someday.

    ♥ aquariann
    Featured Photo: Mosaic Skull Mirror

    ReplyDelete
  25. Fascinating! Never heard of this fruit before.

    Thanks so much for visiting and commenting on Saved by Grace!
    Your blog is a blessing and I am now following it, and I invite you to follow Saved by Grace also:
    http://savedbygracebiblestudy.blogspot.com/
    Love in Him,
    Laurie Collett

    ReplyDelete
  26. That's so fascinating! I've heard of jackfruit but I didn't realize it was such a chore to clean and eat. I'd love to try it one day!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Happy WW. Thanks for linking up with The Jenny Evolution and Wordless Wednesday Bloggers. Don't forget about the Friday Flash Blog on my site. See you then!

    ReplyDelete
  28. What an interesting post because I've never heard of it but it sounds as if it tastes wonderful! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks for that info. on the Jack fruit. That was interesting. Based on what you described it to taste like, I would love this!

    ReplyDelete
  30. What an amazing fruit! The taste description would sell me ;)

    ReplyDelete
  31. I have never seen a jackfruit. This would have been interesting to show my girl scouts when we did a meeting on fruits grown from flowers. What supermarket did you get it? I'm going to be on the lookout for it when I go to the store next time. Just stopping back thru from http://makeitorfixit.com.

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love Jackfruit!!! I had it when I lived in Thailand. I thought it tasted like eating a flower. Sweet and rich and fragrant. Sigh. We can only canned Jackfruit here in the US. Enjoy a piece for me!

    ReplyDelete
  33. boy I bet you are glad it is not a durian. That smell of vomit might put you off the jack fruit.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Looks interesting. I've never seen it before.

    ReplyDelete
  35. How wonderful to see Jackfruit here on your blog. I am seriously craving for some Jackfruit right now. Used to have them every summer in India. My girls love them too and we miss them. Occasionally I find cut out Jackfruit in my local Asian Store.

    ReplyDelete