Actually I discovered it years ago researching healthy vegan eating while watching an episode of Grow Your Greens.* My eyes widened at this wondrous fruit. Both it's flavor and nutrition value are highly rated.** At the time I was living in Florida, which made it much easier to find. I bought a whole 16 pounder just to myself and proceeded to dissect this giant. The first time for anything is such a learning experience, luckily I had done some research. Hours later, my stomach full from snacking on the fruit while separating the fruit pods, listening to some jams; I had bags of those beautiful deep yellow pods.
Yesterday, I found some at a local Asian supermarket in Oregon. I love when they sell it in sections, so I don't have to buy the whole fruit. Most people say it tastes like juicy fruit gum and I whole-heartedly concur. If you decide you want to adventure with this perfect summer food, I wanted to share a few tips. Tips are especially important because, beyond the spiny outer skin of the fruit, each fruit pod is wrapped with super sticky latex strings. I find importance with sharing how best to not leave yourself in a frustrated sticky mess.
Do it outside if possible! This is a messy process, at least for me. I found the perfect sun spotted picnic table.
Bring: Disposable gloves or you can use your bare hands. Throw away covering; I used an opened paper grocery bag. Sharp knife; I prefer a smaller one for a segment of jackfruit. If you're opening a whole fruit, you will need a bigger knife. Coconut oil or some other oil. Paper towels. A couple appropriate sized containers to hold the delish results of your labor.
Turn on some good tunes. Optional, but highly recommended.
Before you get started, realize anything you touch will be super sticky like tree sap. So plan accordingly with else you may need.
After the fruit is sitting on the covering and your knife and container are ready, start working your way into the fruit. It's amazing how strong those strands are! Remove each pod. Peel off the sticky white strings from the yellow fruit pod and remove the seed inside. That's about it. Keep working through the fruit bit by bit, until done. Simple enough.
Now that you, your knife and everything you've touched is a sticky goo, it's time for Clean Up. Hope you remembered the coconut oil and paper towels. Coconut oil easily dissolves and frees the latex sap. Throw those glove away. Or if you used bare hands, simply "wash" your hand in coconut oil and then wipe with the towels. Finally follow with soap and water.
Personally, the rewards are so worth the labor; especially if you make it fun!
So now what? The ripe fruit is wonderful eaten raw. I also enjoy freezing it and making smoothies or jackfruit "nice" cream. Adding just a banana to either brings a delish flavor. I saved some for a smoothie, ate some raw. The rest I made a salad with jicama, lime juice, avocado and a sprinkle of chili powder.
Jackfruit Jicama Salad
All ingredients are to taste
Chopped fresh jackfruit
Chopped fresh jicama
Chopped avocado
Drizzle of lime juice
Sprinkle of chili powder
And you have yourself a super hydrating delish salad full of nutrition that blends perfect with a hot summer afternoon.
References and Resources:
**https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Jackfruit%2C_raw_nutritional_value.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/05/01/308708000/heres-the-scoop-on-jackfruit-a-ginormous-fruit-to-feed-the-world