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Jackfruit: The ‘vegan sensation’ that saved Sri Lanka

35 points by adrian_mrd 6y ago

achanda358 6y ago
Jackfruit is also a part of eastern indian cooking. It is an awesome vegetable, I wish it was more available in the US.
- jfengel 6y ago
  I've seen it at some Asian supermarkets in my area (suburban Maryland). Remarkably, they mostly seem to sell the whole fruit, which seems rather ambitious. Trader Joe's sells it in cans, though I don't know if you'd like it that way.
  - toper-centage 6y ago
    The canned or vacuum sealed stuff is pretty great. You squeeze the water out of them and season like meat and sauté it really juicy and gmhas a great texture. But I wish I could try the real thing made with fresh green Jack.
- higerordermap 6y ago
  Also Coastal Karnataka and I guess Kerala as well.
sradman 6y ago
The jackfruit [1] of South Asia and South East Asia are from domesticated tropical trees closely related to the breadfruit [2] which was part of the Austronesian expansion: > Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of Artocarpus camansi originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines. It was initially spread to Oceania via the Austronesian expansion. It was further spread to other tropical regions of the world during the Colonial Era. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit
redis_mlc 6y ago
Be careful walking under trees in regions with jackfruit. Each fruit can weigh over 100 pounds and will cause serious injury if one falls on you. (There are some jackfruit trees in the Hawaii bio diversity preservation park.) Even coconuts are a hazard, so the various Hawaii governments inspect coconut trees periodically to prevent falling coconuts in tourist areas. https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2016/10/16/hawaii-news/beachgoers-concerned-about-falling-coconuts/ https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2016/10/16/hawaii-news/beach...
- higerordermap 6y ago
  In my observation most species of jackfruit are 10-30 KG around here (in Southern India) and wikipedia confirms this. Not saying it is harmless though. Jackfruit trees are pretty tall around here.

35 points by adrian_mrd 6y ago

achanda358 6y ago

Jackfruit is also a part of eastern indian cooking. It is an awesome vegetable, I wish it was more available in the US.

jfengel 6y ago
I've seen it at some Asian supermarkets in my area (suburban Maryland). Remarkably, they mostly seem to sell the whole fruit, which seems rather ambitious. Trader Joe's sells it in cans, though I don't know if you'd like it that way.
- toper-centage 6y ago
  The canned or vacuum sealed stuff is pretty great. You squeeze the water out of them and season like meat and sauté it really juicy and gmhas a great texture. But I wish I could try the real thing made with fresh green Jack.
higerordermap 6y ago
Also Coastal Karnataka and I guess Kerala as well.

sradman 6y ago

The jackfruit [1] of South Asia and South East Asia are from domesticated tropical trees closely related to the breadfruit [2] which was part of the Austronesian expansion: > Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of Artocarpus camansi originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines. It was initially spread to Oceania via the Austronesian expansion. It was further spread to other tropical regions of the world during the Colonial Era. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit

redis_mlc 6y ago

Be careful walking under trees in regions with jackfruit. Each fruit can weigh over 100 pounds and will cause serious injury if one falls on you. (There are some jackfruit trees in the Hawaii bio diversity preservation park.) Even coconuts are a hazard, so the various Hawaii governments inspect coconut trees periodically to prevent falling coconuts in tourist areas. https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2016/10/16/hawaii-news/beachgoers-concerned-about-falling-coconuts/ https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2016/10/16/hawaii-news/beach...

higerordermap 6y ago
In my observation most species of jackfruit are 10-30 KG around here (in Southern India) and wikipedia confirms this. Not saying it is harmless though. Jackfruit trees are pretty tall around here.