Jackfruit

Artocarpus heterophyllus grows as an evergreen tree that has a relatively short trunk with a dense treetop. It easily reaches heights of 10 to 20 meters and trunk diameters of 30 to 80 centimeters. It sometimes forms buttress roots. The bark of the jackfruit tree is reddish-brown and smooth. In the event of injury to the bark, a milky juice is released.

The leaves are alternate and spirally arranged. They are gummy and thick and are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is 1 to 3 inches long. The leathery leaf blade is 7 to 15 inches long, and 3 to 7 inches wide and is oblong to ovate in shape.

In young trees, the leaf edges are irregularly lobed or split. On older trees, the leaves are rounded and dark green, with a smooth leaf margin. The leaf blade has a prominent main nerve and starting on each side six to eight lateral nerves. The stipules are egg-shaped at a length of 1.5 to 8 centimeters.

Flower buds and leaves of a jackfruit tree

Opened jackfruit

Jack fruits in Kerala

The inflorescences are formed on the trunk, branches or twigs (caulifloria). Jackfruit trees are monoecious, having both female and male flowers on a tree. The inflorescences are pedunculated, cylindrical to ellipsoidal or pear-shaped, to about 10-12 centimeters long and 5-7 centimeters wide. Inflorescences are initially completely enveloped in egg-shaped cover sheets which rapidly slough off.

The flowers are small, sitting on a fleshy rachis.[24] The male flowers are greenish, some flowers are sterile. The male flowers are hairy and the perianth ends with two 1 to 1.5 millimeters membrane. The individual and prominent stamens are straight with yellow, roundish anthers. After the pollen distribution, the stamens become ash-gray and fall off after a few days. Later all the male inflorescences also fall off. The greenish female flowers, with hairy and tubular perianth, have a fleshy flower-like base. The female flowers contain an ovary with a broad, capitate or rarely bilobed scar. The blooming time ranges from December until February or March.

The ellipsoidal to roundish fruit is a multiple fruit formed from the fusion of the ovaries of multiple flowers. The fruits grow on a long and thick stem on the trunk. They vary in size and ripen from an initially yellowish-greenish to yellow, and then at maturity to yellowish-brown. They possess a hard, gummy shell with small pimples surrounded with hard, hexagonal tubercles. The large and variously shaped fruit have a length of 30 to 100 centimeters and a diameter of 15 to 50 centimeters and can weigh 10-25 kilograms or more.[8]

The fruits consist of a fibrous, whitish core (rachis) about 5-10 centimeters thick. Radiating from this are many 10 centimeter long individual fruits. They are elliptical to egg-shaped, light brownish achenes with a length of about 3 centimeters and a diameter of 1.5 to 2 centimeters.

There may be about 100-500 seeds per fruit. The seed coat consists of a thin, waxy, parchment-like and easily removable testa (husk) and a brownish, membranous tegmen. The cotyledons are usually unequal in size, and the endosperm is minimally present.[25] An average fruit consists of 27% edible seed coat, 15% edible seeds, 20% white pulp (undeveloped perianth, rags) and bark and 10% core.

The fruit matures during the rainy season from July to August. The bean-shaped achenes of the jackfruit are coated with a firm yellowish aril (seed coat, flesh), which has an intense sweet taste at maturity of the fruit. The pulp is enveloped by many narrow strands of fiber (undeveloped perianth), which run between the hard shell and the core of the fruit and are firmly attached to it. When pruned, the inner part (core) secretes a sticky, milky liquid,[8] which can hardly be removed from the skin, even with soap and water. To clean the hands after "unwinding" the pulp an oil or other solvent is used. For example, street vendors in Tanzania, who sell the fruit in small segments, provide small bowls of kerosene for their customers to cleanse their sticky fingers. When fully ripe, jackfruit has a strong pleasant aroma, the pulp of the opened fruit resembles the odor of pineapple and banana.[8]

Jackfruit has a distinctive sweet and fruity aroma. In a study of flavour volatiles in five jackfruit cultivars, the main volatile compounds detected were ethyl isovalerate, propyl isovalerate, butyl isovalerate, isobutyl isovalerate, 3-methylbutyl acetate, 1-butanol, and 2-methylbutan-1-ol.[26]

A fully ripe and unopened jackfruit is known to "emit a strong aroma" — perhaps unpleasant[8][27] — with the inside of the fruit described as smelling of pineapple and banana.[8] After roasting, the seeds may be used as a commercial alternative to chocolate aroma.[28]

The edible pulp is 74% water, 23% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 1% fat. The carbohydrate component is primarily sugars, and is a source of dietary fiber. In a 100 grams (3.5 oz) portion, raw jackfruit provides 400 kJ (95 kcal), and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin B₆ (25% DV). It contains moderate levels (10-19% DV) of vitamin C and potassium, with no other micronutrients in significant content.

The jackfruit is a partial solution for food security in developing countries.[13][29]

The flavor of the ripe fruit is comparable to a combination of apple, pineapple, mango, and banana.[8][14] Varieties are distinguished according to characteristics of the fruit flesh. In Indochina, the two varieties are the "hard" version (crunchier, drier, and less sweet, but fleshier), and the "soft" version (softer, moister, and much sweeter, with a darker gold-color flesh than the hard variety). Unripe jackfruit has a mild flavor and meat-like texture and is used in curry dishes with spices in many cuisines. The skin of unripe jackfruit must be peeled first, then the remaining jackfruit flesh is chopped in a labor-intensive process[30] into edible portions and cooked before serving. The final chunks resemble prepared artichoke hearts in their mild taste, color, and flowery qualities.

The cuisines of many Asian countries use cooked young jackfruit.[14] In many cultures, jackfruit is boiled and used in curries as a staple food. The boiled young jackfruit is used in salads or as a vegetable in spicy curries and side dishes, and as fillings for cutlets and chops. It may be used by vegetarians as a substitute for meat such as pulled pork. It may be cooked with coconut milk and eaten alone or with meat, shrimp or smoked pork. In southern India, unripe jackfruit slices are deep-fried to make chips.

In Bangladesh, the fruit is consumed on its own. The unripe fruit is used in curry, and the seed is often dried and preserved to be later used in curry.[31] In India, two varieties of jackfruit predominate: muttomvarikka and sindoor. Muttomvarikka has a slightly hard inner flesh when ripe, while the inner flesh of the ripe sindoor fruit is soft.[32]

A sweet preparation called chakkavaratti (jackfruit jam) is made by seasoning pieces of muttomvarikka fruit flesh in jaggery, which can be preserved and used for many months. The fruits are either eaten alone or as a side to rice. The juice is extracted and either drunk straight or as a side. The juice is sometimes condensed and eaten as candies. The seeds are either boiled or roasted and eaten with salt and hot chilies. They are also used to make spicy side dishes with rice. Jackfruit may be ground and made into a paste, then spread over a mat and allowed to dry in the sun to create a natural chewy candy.

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  Jackfruit curry (Sri Lanka)
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  Green jackfruit and potato curry (West Bengal)
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  Jackfruit masala (India)
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  Jackfruit fried in coconut oil from Kerala, India

In Indonesia and Malaysia, jackfruit is called nangka. The ripe fruit is usually sold separately and consumed on its own, or sliced and mixed with shaved ice as a sweet concoction dessert such as es campur and es teler. The ripe fruit might be dried and fried as kripik nangka, or jackfruit cracker. The seeds are boiled and consumed with salt, as they contains edible starchy content; this is called beton. Young (unripe) jackfruit is made into curry called gulai nangka or stewed called gudeg.

In the Philippines, jackfruit is called langka in Filipino and nangkà[33] in Cebuano. The unripe fruit is usually cooked in coconut milk and eaten with rice; this is called ginataang langka.[34] The ripe fruit is often an ingredient in local desserts such as halo-halo and the Filipino turon. The ripe fruit, besides also being eaten raw as it is, is also preserved by storing in syrup or by drying. The seeds are also boiled before being eaten.

Thailand is a major producer of jackfruit, which are often cut, prepared, and canned in a sugary syrup (or frozen in bags or boxes without syrup) and exported overseas, frequently to North America and Europe.

In Vietnam, jackfruit is used to make jackfruit chè, a sweet dessert soup, similar to the Chinese derivative bubur cha cha. The Vietnamese also use jackfruit purée as part of pastry fillings or as a topping on xôi ngọt (a sweet version of sticky rice portions).

Jackfruits are found primarily in the eastern part of Taiwan. The fresh fruit can be eaten directly or preserved as dried fruit, candied fruit, or jam. It is also stir-fried or stewed with other vegetables and meat.

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  Kripik nangka, jackfruit chips (Indonesia)
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  Es teler, shaved ice dessert with avocado and coconut (Indonesia)
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  Gudeg (left), jackfruit curry with palm sugar (Indonesia)
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  Ginataang langka, jackfruit in coconut milk (Philippines)
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  Halo-halo, shaved ice dessert with various fruits and toppings (Philippines)

Packaged jackfruit chunks, seasoned with paprika, tomato and other herbs and spices. When prepared in this way, jackfruit has the look and texture of meat and is used as a meat substitute.

In Brazil, three varieties are recognized: jaca-dura, or the "hard" variety, which has a firm flesh, and the largest fruits that can weigh between 15 and 40 kg each; jaca-mole, or the "soft" variety, which bears smaller fruits with a softer and sweeter flesh; and jaca-manteiga, or the "butter" variety, which bears sweet fruits whose flesh has a consistency intermediate between the "hard" and "soft" varieties.[35]

From a tree planted for its shade in gardens, it became an ingredient for local recipes using different fruit segments. The seeds are boiled in water or roasted to remove toxic substances, and then roasted for a variety of desserts. The flesh of the unripe jackfruit is used to make a savory salty dish with smoked pork. The jackfruit arils are used to make jams or fruits in syrup, and can also be eaten raw.

In 2017, India produced 1.4 million tonnes of jackfruit, followed by Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia.[42]

The marketing of jackfruit involves three groups: producers, traders, and middlemen, including wholesalers and retailers.[43] The marketing channels are rather complex. Large farms sell immature fruit to wholesalers, which helps cash flow and reduces risk, whereas medium-sized farms sell the fruit directly to local markets or retailers.

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  Packed jackfruit sold in a market
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  Selling jackfruit in Bangkok
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  Jackfruit at a fruit stand in Manhattan's Chinatown
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  Cut jackfruit
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  Polythene-packaged cut jackfruit
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  Extracting the jackfruit arils and separating the seeds from the flesh

Outside countries of origin, fresh jackfruit can be found at food markets throughout Southeast Asia.[8][44] It is also extensively cultivated in the Brazilian coastal region, where it is sold in local markets. It is available canned in sugary syrup, or frozen, already prepared and cut. Jackfruit industries are established in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, where the fruit is processed into products such as flour, noodles, papad, and ice cream.[44] It is also canned and sold as a vegetable for export.

Jackfruit is also widely available year-round, both canned and dried. Dried jackfruit chips are produced by various manufacturers. As reported in 2019, jackfruit became more widely available in US grocery stores, cleaned and ready to cook, as well as in premade dishes or prepared ingredients.[45] It is on restaurant menus in preparations such as pulled pork and taco filling.[45]