Jackfruit

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Jackfruit (lat. Artocarpus heterophyllus) - an evergreen tree from the genus Artocarpus of the Moraceae family. The Almighty awarded the tree with the largest fruits growing on our planet. One such fruit, weighing up to 35 kilograms, can feed a small village with dinner. And the annual yield of one tree ranges from 100 to 200 seedlings. It is not for nothing that Jackfruit is also called the "Indian breadfruit", and its huge fruits (seed fruits) are called "bread for the poor."

What's in your name

The name of the tree "Jackfruit" was borrowed by the Portuguese, who reached India at the end of the 15th century, from the local language. In Portuguese it sounded like "jaca".

The common English name for the tree "jackfruit" was incorporated in the middle of the 16th century into the main work of the Portuguese physician, Garcia de Horta, in which he described the medicinal herbs of India.

Many centuries later, an American botanist, Ralph Randles Stewart (1890-15-04 - 1993-06-11), suggested that the name of the tree immortalized the name of the Scottish botanist, William Jack (1795 - 1822), who worked as an employee of the East India Company in Bengal, Sumatra and Malaysia.

Description

It would seem that in order to hold the giant fruit, the tree must have a thick and tall trunk, as well as strong flexible branches. But the tree cannot boast of its height, growing only up to 20 meters. And the branches are not particularly strong, withstanding only the weight of the dense dark green foliage. With their oval shape and size, the leaves resemble Ficus rubbery. The surface of the leaves is leathery.

Among the dense foliage, nondescript male flowers are hiding on thin twigs. Female flowers, although larger than male ones, also do not differ in attractiveness and are collected in inflorescences. They do not rely on the strength of the branches, and therefore are located right on the tree trunk, taking care of the preservation of their offspring.

Using Jackfruit as an example, nature once again shows a person that external beauty is not the main criterion when you need to get a good result.

Jackfruit fruits

The fruits of the tree deserve a separate description. After all, their aromatic and nutritious pulp in the countries of Southeast Asia, characterized by a large population, is one of the main food products, with which only bananas and mangoes can compete.

In fact, the fruit of the tree is a community of small fruits that form a huge fruit. Such fruit can be up to 90 cm long with a diameter of 50 cm. Since the branches of Jackfruit are thin and fragile, the fruits prefer to form directly on the tree trunk, which guarantees them a solid base.

When fully ripe, the fruit exudes a sweet fruity aroma, and in its pulp banana, apple, pineapple and mango aromas are intricately intertwined, creating a new characteristic jackfruit taste.

Each seed brings to the world a light brown seed, the smell of which resembles the smell of rotten onions. Apparently this smell prevails in overripe fruit when they try to store it for a long time.

The chemical composition of the fetus

The pulp of the fruit consists of three-quarters of water (more precisely, 74%), leaving 23 percent for carbohydrates, 2 percent for proteins and one percent for fat. It is also a rich source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, and Jackfruit has moderate levels of vitamin C and potassium. Other chemical elements useful for humans are also present in small amounts.

Cooking use

Different varieties of Jackfruit allow you to use its fruits and seeds in completely different dishes.

Unripe fruits replace vegetables. Soups are cooked with them, they are stewed and all kinds of dishes are cooked that can only be tasted while in the area.

All kinds of desserts, jellies, jam, which can be stored for a long time, are prepared from sweet ripe fruits.