My first experience, face to face, with a jackfruit. People grow them here, but you don't generally see them in the market. Well, occasionally in the farmer's market, cut up and wrapped in saran. This all started when I went with a friend, to a local vegetarian restaurant, an excellent one, by the way - Sweet Cane Cafe - specializing in locally grown, organic produce, wanting to try the now almost cult fruit, prepared like pulled pork. The owner said she didn't use jackfruit for that purpose, just ripe ones in smoothies. So I managed to talk her into selling me a whole, unripe specimen. Luckily she had just taken delivery on a bunch of them, so I was able to stagger out, with one of the staff helping me to carry it. This is a fruit you don't want falling on your head out in the orchard.
Me negotiating said purchase. The next job was researching how to cut it open, prepare for cooking and use in some recipes. Verizon has told me I'm down to 10% due to excessive data usage.
The fruits are full of sticky, runny latex, so first we place the fruit on a large plastic bag, over a cutting board. Then coat our hands and knife in vegetable oil. After hacking off less than 1/4 of the fruit I decided that amount was quite enough for the two of us, and shared the rest in two larger sections with friends. My right shoulder has been giving me some grief, so the cutting process through a tough prickly skin was a bit difficult.
There's our portion in the orange bowl, just out of the pressure cooker and separated from the seeds. That's the "meat" and it does look rather meaty! The pressure cooker (or your Instant Pot) is the quickest way to cook the fruit, and after cooling down it's much easier to deal with. The latex now not being a problem.
The seeds are edible and very good as well, a bit like cooked potato. I used part of them to make hummus and some in the stuffing for a baked avocado. Cooking an avocado - another first for me.
The remainder of my cooked fruit was divided in half. One portion I seasoned with a BBQ style sauce, and the other with a Teriyaki marinade. Then, food stashing Hawaiian style, it all went into zip-lock freezer bags (labeled of course) for later use - except for enough to top our pizza.
The pizza was great with BBQ sauced jackfruit, mushrooms, and some small orange peppers, then tomato and cheese on top, of course. Very yummy! I'm planning to make sourdough pita breads today and use some for jackfruit pita sandwiches. Well, I'd still like to try the fruit in it's ripe state. Supposed to taste a bit like Juicy Fruit gum?
This post will be linked to Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking event. You can visit for some good cooking ideas, or join in with a link to your own cooking post.
Hmmm....I have actually seen these for sale here for about $25. Is that even competitive? I don't think I've ever eaten it (maybe once when I do think my chicken pasta came out as a vegan version at a restaurant). It was either really good fake chicken or pretty mediocre real chicken! :)
ReplyDeleteStay safe and distanced, Claudia!
Oh Claudia, I admire you! I like jackfruit for chilis, soup and stews but so far I have only gone for the canned version. I don't think I'd have the gumption to prepare it from the fruit! ;-)
ReplyDeleteWow! That really was a big fruit. Great adventure!
ReplyDeleteI don't think the fresh version gets to us in the North. I did buy a can of it once but after long hesitation about opening the can, I gave it to a food drive.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae, I'd hesitate about the canned version as well. Still want to try it ripe - and fresh. So back to that restaurant I guess.
ReplyDeleteI have seen those monsters in the markets and wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pole.. It' huge and scary looking. Thanks for the insight of how to attack it in case I even buy one. I do buy jackfruit crabcakes and jackfruit BBQ dinners and like them.
ReplyDeleteWow, you are a brave and adventurous soul! Never heard of jackfruit before -- what a whopper! Admire all your ingenious ways of using it in different dishes. The pizza, especially, looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI,ve heard of jackfruit but never actually tried it!
ReplyDeleteI have tried from a local food co-op but have never seen one in real life. Just. Wow. They are huge! I admire your tenacity cutting through that huge jackfruit.
ReplyDelete