Cookbook:Jackfruit

The jackfruit is a very large fruit from trees native to south-western India and Sri Lanka. Jackfruit can be up to 90cm long, 50cm in diameter, and weight up to 36kg. The taste is similar to that of pineapple, but milder and less juicy. It is popular throughout South Asia and South-east Asia.

Jackfruit can be eaten as a fresh fruit, both ripe and unripe. It is also often combined into cooked meals, both sweet and savoury. Jackfruit can be bought in cans, and as dried pieces.

Young fruit
The young fruit is called Polos in Sri Lanka. It is a dish with spices to replace meat curries in Sri Lankan cuisine. The skin of unripe (young) jack fruit must be pared first and discarded and then the whole fruit can be chopped into edible portions and cooked to be eaten. The raw young fruit is not edible. Young jackfruit has a mild flavour and distinctive poultry like texture. The cuisines of India,Nepal,Bangladesh,Sri Lanka,Indonesia,Cambodia, and Vietnam use cooked young jackfruit. In Indonesia, young jackfruit is eaten as gudeg. In many cultures, jackfruit is boiled and used in curries as a staple food.

Ripe fruit
Ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet with subtle flavouring. It can be used to make a variety of dishes including custards, cakes, halo-halo and more. Ripe jackruit arils are sometimes seeded, fried and sold as jackfruit chips.