Review article about jackfruit: what it is, where it grows, what is useful fruit, taste, chemical composition and calorie content.
Jackfruit is the fruit of an evergreen tropical tree with dense oval leaves up to 22 centimeters in length, the powerful trunk of which can grow up to 20 meters. The fruits are very large and ripen from 3 to 8 months, but not on the branches, but directly on the trunk. Their size: the length of a small jackfruit is 20 cm, and the largest is 110 cm, diameter is up to 20 cm, weight is up to 34 kg. Seeds up to 500 pieces can be in one fruit. There is no doubt that this is the largest edible fruit that grows on a tree.
Pictured is a tree with jackfruit fruits
The botanical name is Artocarpus heterophyllus, like breadfruit, from the mulberry family, angiosperm department. The very first jackfruit trees appeared in Bangladesh and India. Now it is cultivated in Southeast Asia, East Africa, Brazil, the Philippines, and Thailand. Their popularity is comparable only to bananas and mangoes. The fruit of the plant is nutritious, available to everyone where it grows (cheap), does not require special preparation, because of this it can be called "bread for the poor."
Attention, just do not confuse it with a similar one, also one of the largest fruits in Asia -.
Outwardly, a large jackfruit fruit is oval, with a pimply skin of light brown, yellowish or green color - it depends on the variety. Inside it contains many yellow or orange lobules with a stone. From what kind of jackfruit you have eaten, the slices themselves will be either crispy, or soft, or even very soft, or viscous like rubber. There is also a lot of variety in the taste: the pulp can be pleasantly berry, chocolate, ruminant-vanilla ... In general, sweet! Interestingly, the ripened fruit smells disgusting, like rotten onions, but its pulp is fragrant like pineapple or banana.
There are many recipes for making jackfruit in local cooking. If the fruit is ripe, then it is consumed fresh, crumbled into a salad, dessert dishes. But immature ones are cooked like a vegetable - they are stewed, boiled, fried, etc., they are even used as a filling in pies. The seeds are also edible - they are fried and eaten.
Those who like to eat very sweet overripe fruits need to know that such a jackfruit will soon turn brown and spoil. To keep it fresh, put it in the refrigerator (freezer), where it can be stored for up to 2 months.
On a note: the jackfruit plant itself, the fruit, and each part of it contains a sticky latex. And if you bought the whole fruit, then it is better to cut it with gloves or pre-lubricate your hands with vegetable oil.
Choose like this: if you need an unripe jackfruit, it will make a dull sound when tapped. If you want ripe, then the sound will be hollow, sonorous. The peel is also different: in a ripe one, it is dense, elastic, but no longer hard.
Divided for food: cut along this oval large fruit, remove the resin, core and press on the peel, separating all parts of the jackfruit from each other. With the help of a knife, sweet pulp is cut out and seeds are selected.
Video how to cut jackfruit:
The chemical composition of jackfruit and calories
The ripe fruit has a pleasant sweet taste and is very nutritious. It contains vitamins, micro and macro elements, a lot of carbohydrates. Here is another name for jackfruit - Indian breadfruit.
In the photo, peeled slices of jackfruit pulp
Jackfruit calories - 94 kcal per 100 g, the same amount of fresh fruit pulp contains:
- Proteins - 1.46 g
- Fat - 0.29 g
- Carbohydrates - 2.4 g
- Saturated fatty acids - 0.062 g
- Dietary fiber - 1.61 g
- Water - 73.2 g
- Ashes - 1 g
- Beta carotene vit. A - 15 mcg
- B9 - 14 mcg
- B6 - 0.11 mcg
- B2 - 0.1 mcg
- B1 - 0.03 mcg
- Ascorbic acid vit. C - 6.68 mg
- - 0.4 mg
- Potassium - 300 mg
- Magnesium - 37.2 mg
- Iron - 0.58 mg
- Calcium - 33.9 mg
- Phosphorus - 36 mg
- - 3.1 mg
- Manganese - 0.2 mg
- Zinc - 0.4 mg
- Copper - 187 mcg
- Selenium - 0.59 mcg
Jackfruit contains a lot of useful elements, including vegetable fiber. It is indispensable for cleansing the intestines, removing toxins and normalizing the work of the entire gastrointestinal tract. For example, locals warn tourists who eat a lot of fruit pulp that it can cause diarrhea.
Vitamins A and C, folic acid and magnesium are good helpers for hematopoiesis. They nourish our capillaries and blood vessels, support vision.
From the pulp of this Indian breadfruit healers of oriental medicine prepare medicines for pharyngitis, stomach ulcers, to normalize digestion. If you believe the connoisseurs of all the properties of this tropical fruit, then you can avoid intoxication when drinking alcohol: before the feast, you need to eat jackfruit pulp.
Contraindications
Individual intolerance to the product may be the reason for not tasting this nutritious and very sweet tropical fruit.
With a large amount of jackfruit pulp eaten, diarrhea can occur, and subsequently an upset stomach that requires treatment. It is better to start trying a tropical fruit with small portions and gradually increase them.
The wood of the jackfruit trunk is not damaged by termites or fungi, which is why it is widely used as a building material for the home, furniture, and even musical instruments.
In places where this plant is common, they believe that jackfruit brings good luck and wealth, so they plant it near their homes.
The fact is not confirmed, but in Eastern countries it is believed that the pulp of jackfruit is able to increase the number of spermatozoa, therefore it is very useful for men.
Video about the beneficial properties of jackfruit, how to eat it and how to choose:
