2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Breadfruit (lat. Artocarpus altilis) - a fruit plant that is a representative of the rich Mulberry family.
Description
The breadfruit is an incredibly powerful tree, the height of which can reach twenty-six meters. Outwardly, it is very similar to an oak tree, and this tree also boasts surprisingly fast growth. Each tree is covered with gray and fairly smooth bark. A certain part of its branches is much thicker than most other branches - this is due to the presence of leafy side branches. And the bulk of the branches are quite long and very thin, with bizarre bunches of leaves at the tips.
The breadfruit leaves are amazingly varied. By the way, such a feature is an infrequent phenomenon in the world of flora. On the same plant, it will not be difficult to see both pinnately dissected and whole leaves, which will be older than the first. And still young leaves can boast of an unequal degree of pubescence. And one more interesting point - depending on climatic conditions, the breadfruit can be either evergreen or deciduous.
Small and rather inconspicuous flowers of this plant are painted in greenish tones pleasant to the eye. Male flowers that fold into rather long, cyst-like inflorescences always begin to bloom earlier than female ones, and female inflorescences form beautiful and rather large buds. Such flowers are pollinated by fruit bats - bats. And after the ovary, the female flowers gradually begin to grow together with each other, forming huge fruits, the shape of which, by the time of ripening, begins to resemble a knobby melon. At the same time, the fruits are able to form not only one at a time - sometimes you can see very impressive bunches on the tips of the branches.
It is noteworthy that, without exception, all parts of this culture are characterized by the content of sticky latex, which has a milky color.
Unripe breadfruit is green in color, and as it ripens, they first turn into pleasant yellowish-greenish tones, then turn completely yellow, and finally acquire a characteristic yellowish-brownish color. The diameter of one fruit can easily reach thirty centimeters, and their weight often varies from three to four kilograms. Until the moment of final ripening, the fruits are always firm, with starchy and fibrous white flesh. And fully ripe fruits gradually soften, and their pulp becomes sweet and colored in yellowish or creamy tones.
Where grows
Under natural conditions, breadfruit can most often be found on the territory of New Guinea - it was from here that savvy Polynesians subsequently transported it to the picturesque islands of Oceania, where it turned into one of the most important sources of food. And now this culture will not be difficult to see in most countries lying in the tropical zone.
Application
The pulp of ripe fruits is eaten not only raw - no less often it is candied, dried, baked and even boiled. A rather peculiar dough is prepared from the thoroughly mashed and carefully mashed pulp, from which very tasty pancakes are obtained.
They also eat unripe fruits. And if the breadfruit is roasted, it tastes like fried potatoes. However, seeds are also often used - they are fried or boiled, and then sprinkled with salt.
The breadfruit also has beneficial properties - the high fiber content makes them excellent helpers for normalizing the digestive tract, and if you eat these fruits systematically, you can significantly reduce the risk of developing all kinds of cardiovascular diseases, normalize metabolism, strengthen teeth and bones, and improve the condition of nails, hair and skin. But that's not all - among other things, these fruits are an excellent prophylactic against rectal cancer.
Contraindications
Individual intolerance is not excluded, but in general, breadfruit does not have any serious contraindications.
