FOOD RESOURCE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
JACKFRUIT, ARTOCARPUS INTEGRIFOLIA
Excerpts from Passmore, Jacki. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking. Hearst Books, New York.
A large tropical fruit with a yellow-green, thick, hard skin segmented into small, short spines. Its flesh resembles pineapple in appearance, although it is paler cream-yellow in color and less sweet and juicy. When green it is used as a vegetable in curries, salads and vegetable dishes; when ripe it develops an oversweet fragrance rather like durian and has a waxy texture and sweet, agreeable taste which goes well in fruit salads. The flowers and young leaf shoots are sued in salads and as a vegetable. Jackfruit is sometimes available fresh in Asian vegetable markets and is sold in cans and jars.
Origins: It has been farmed and transported throughout southeast Asia
for centuries, but the best guess among the experts is southern India.
Flavor Characteristics: It has a full distinctive, sweet flavor with a
sweet musty aroma.\Physical Description: The fruit has a thick skin covered
with little bumps that varies in color from light to deep yellow. It's
a large oblong fruit with a bit of heft, at times weighing in at more
than 60 pounds. Inside the fruit is a pale core that is surrounded by
segments of golden flesh.
In Thailand, jackfruit is considered to be a sweet yellow fruit covered with thick skin. Large in size.
This resource is much more than a dictionary or encyclopedia. If you wish to know more about cuisines and associated recipes from individual countries, this would be an excellent resource.
