The first thing that struck me about the fruit is the outstanding nose, perfumed with pineapple, mango, and banana. It is a simply beguiling smell. The flavor is—I don't know how to put it better—of straight up Juicy Fruit gum with a sweet banana finish. I can't explain Juicy Fruit to non-Americans because it's something you have to taste, but try to imagine a symphony of every tropical fruit you know.
So, how to attack one of these monsters, the largest tree fruits? I bought a quarter of one, about 5.5 lbs (2.5kg), already cut. Whole ones are easy enough to split and quarter with a sharp knife. When working with jackfruit, you definitely need to be mindful of the latex that the core oozes when cut. It can make a sticky mess, but I had no problem washing it off with hot water and soap.
I cut the core out of my quarter and this exposed the individual fruits (technically I think they're called arils, but really, who cares?). This is a fruit with training wheels: it is obvious how to disassemble it. The edible fruits are yellow and the stringy pithy white stuff surrounding them is not so good. Inside the fruit, you find a big seed that you discard. What's left is good, really good.
The texture of the fruit is unique in my experience; it compares to nothing in my vocabulary. The fruit is totally dry with no discernible juice. The texture is somewhat waxy and somewhat yieldingly crisp; it is not unpleasant though, but I just don't have any words to describe it.
Note: the next day, after we had pulled the fruit from the husk and refrigerated it overnight, the tropical complexities had dissipated and we were left with a fruit that tastes remarkably like cantaloupe with none of the sweet banana finish. Go figure.
Vote: Wow! We really like this fruit and the price is right!
Ed - this post brings back a lot of memories.
ReplyDeleteThere are several kind of jack-fruit - some remain firm even ripe and some are more sticky when ripe(I mean the flesh is - and less digestible too).
On Reunion-island, they also eat immature jack fruit (before the seeds have a chance to form) as a cooked vegetable (never raw). You can buy in at the market, peeled (as you noticed the latex is quite abundant) and shredded (jacque battu - really cut finely with 2 knives or a machete! quite a bit of skills). Some vendors oil their knives and hands before peeling the fruit.
The mature seeds can be roasted or boiled.
It's been a long time since I have jackfruit.
I gave a mini clinic on jackfruit last Saturday when I went back to buy more. Everyone including the cashiers wanted to know what to do with it. We saved the seeds and we're going to roast them like chestnuts.
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