Latin name: Artocarpus heterophyllus
Other names: Jack tree
Uses: fruit, vegetable, pickled, fried, chips, flour, dessert
What is jackfruit?
The largest tree fruit in the world, jackfruit belongs to the Moraceae family, which includes fig, mulberry, and breadfruit. Weighing anywhere between 10 and a whopping 50 pounds or more, these enormous fruits have thick, bumpy greenish-brown skin that looks almost lizard-like. Inside you’ll find a mass of plump, stringy yellow pods. Relished both green and ripe, jackfruit is increasingly available in fresh, frozen and canned form.
Why is jackfruit healthy?
Who would have guessed that a low-carb fruit packed full of antioxidants, magnesium, fiber, and vitamin B6 could also be a superior meat replacement? In 2016, plant-based eaters made it a Google “rising star” based on search volume, praising jackfruit for its versatility and unique, meat-like texture. Studies show it also may reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.
What does jackfruit taste like?
When ripe, jackfruit is sweet like a banana, with a slightly tangy acidity reminiscent of pineapple. The bulbs have a bouncy texture like gummy candy. Unripe jackfruit is not sweet and is consumed in cooked form only, almost always in savory dishes. When roasted, compounds found in jackfruit seeds can produce aromas similar to processed cocoa beans. As a result, efforts are underway to see if the seed powder could work as a cacao alternative.
How do I use jackfruit?
Ripe jackfruit is eaten raw out of hand as well as featured in tropical desserts and sweets around the world, including the crushed ice and condensed milk dessert halo-halo in Philippines, Vietnamese chè, and the South Indian mini pancakes chakka nei appam. Since ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet, it is also processed into candies, syrups, juice concentrates, and preserves. Toasted and salted, the seeds make a popular snack.
You can cook unripe jackfruit in a variety of ways. The bulbs can be boiled for salads, fried like cutlets, or simply grilled or sautéed like a vegetable. In many Asian countries, jackfruit is stewed with meat and often served with steamed rice. In the southern states of India, sliced jackfruit bulbs are deep fried and eaten as chips. Through tropical South and Southeast Asia, people consume it in curries or straight off the tree. Cooks in the West have more recently taken a fancy to jackfruit, using it to make taco fillings, salads, burgers, and a vegetarian version of pulled pork. The dried fruit and seeds can be ground into flour.
What does jackfruit pair well with?
Jackfruit likes other tropical flavors — think coconut, and South or Southeast Asian spices.
Where does jackfruit grow?
Jackfruit is native to South and Southeast Asian countries, and is believed to have originated in the region between the Western Ghats of India and the rainforests of Malaysia. Tropical lowlands are ideal for its cultivation; today it’s grown widely throughout the tropical regions of the world. The English name “jackfruit” is derived from the Portuguese “jaca” which comes from the Malayalam term “chakka.”
How to buy jackfruit:
Unripe, it should be firm and sturdy. When ripe, it will become softer and more aromatic. Avoid too-soft or browning specimens.
Fun jackfruit fact:
The wood of the jackfruit tree is resistant to fungus and termites, which makes it an ideal building material for houses and furniture.
Username: Bongsong Published on 2024-10-23 01:22:49 ID NUMBER: 124036
A medium to large, adaptable, long-lived tree with a wide, spreading crown which may reach a height of 40-60 feet on favorable sites. Produces acorns which are utilized by a wide variety of wildlife.
A very tall shrub to small tree native to western Asia. Slightly larger in stature than Amur maple, but with slightly duller foilage and yellowish fall color. Attractive rosy-red seds. The largest tree in North Dakota is 24 feet tall with a canopy spread of 27 feet.
A medium to large tree with spreading branches forming a variably rounded to informally spreading crown. A fast-growing tree subject to iron and manganese chlorosis on high PH soils which may cause dieback or eventual death. Often called soft maple because the wood is the softest of the maples used for lumber. Native to Minnesota, the largest tree in North Dakota is 66 feet tall with a canopy spread of 72 feet.
A large, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree native to northern Asia which may reach 15-20 feet in height and spread. Noted for its attractive autumn color of yellow, orange, or red.
Medium-sized tree native to Europe, with a strikingly dense pyramidal to rounded crown. Desirable specimen tree in the landscape. The flowers are highly fragrant and attractive to bees. The largest tree in North Dakota is 35 feet tall with a canopy spread of 32 feet.
A medium to large tree native east of the Missouri River in North Dakota. Desirable as a landscape tree for its large stature, shade and aromatic flowers. Fruit with attached pale-green bract, gives tree a two-tone appearance in late summer. The largest tree in North Daktoa is 75 feet tall with a canopy spready of 64 feet.
A medium to large spreading tree reaching 45 to 75 feet in height on good sites, adaptable to variable soil conditions. Foliage is pinnately compound, fruit is a long brown pod. Produces
hardy seedlings of the variety inermis, which are mostly thornless. Climatic zones 4 and warmer. Not hardy in zone 3. Native to the central and eastern U.S.
Broadly rounded, low-branched tree with wide-spreading, horizontal branches which are densely set This species performs well in North Dakota. Attractive white flowers and red fruit, thorny stems.
A medium to large tree with a spreading crown reaching a height of 35-55 feet. Fruit is a small dark berry utilized by wildlife. It is native to the eastern and midwestern United States.
A very hardy, fast growing tree with brittle wood which is subject to breakage. Extremely susceptible to insect, disease, and herbicide damage, which makes it an undesirable tree. Often confused with Chinese elm which is not hardy in North Dakota. The largest tree in North Dakota is 60 feet tall with a canopy spread of 55 feet.
The state tree of North Dakota. A large vase-shaped ree adapted to a wide variety of sites. No longer recommended because of its susceptibility to Dutch Elm Disease. This may change as
resistance cultivars become known. The largest tree in North Dakota is 62 feet tall with a canopy spread of 74 feet.
A small to medium sized, roundheaded tree reaching a height of 15 to 25 feet. It is native from northeastern Asia to northern China. Siberian crabapple is the hardiest species of the Malus genus and produces white flowers.
A variable seed propagated strain of crabapple reaching 15 to 25 feet in height and width, variable fruit size, foliage green to red in color. Excellent wildlife plant.
Cultivar: `MIDWEST' MANCHURIAN CRABAPPLE - a hardy, uniform seed propagated selection from USDA Bismarck, PMC. A small to medium sized, roundheaded tree reaching a height of 15 to 25 feet. It is native from northeastern Asia to northern China. White flowers appear in May followed by the 1/4' to 1/2' yellow or red fruits in October.
has very large dark purple fruit that is packed with flavor as crabs go. These apples make great jellies and some add the juice to ciders as a secret ingredient. Fruit is easy for wildlife to get to as this crab will drop its fruit.
Selection from South Dakota State University. A large, vigorous, cottonless male tree to 70 feet in height on favorable sites, spreading crown in open areas but with a tall, central trunk when crowded. Selected for leaf rust resistance.
A large spreading tree reaching 60 to 90 feet in height and 40 to 60 feet in spread. This native specie occurs along waterways and wet meadows throughout the Plains states. Greater drought and alkalinity tolerance than many of the euramericana hybrid poplar cultivars. Produces seed in tufts of "cotton".
A medium to large szed tree native to the eastern United States, considered borderline hardy for most of North Dakota except the southeastern quarter. An attractive tree with "orchidlike" flowers. Further east, catalpa can become a very large tree, but in North Dakota it rarely exceeds 40 feet.
A medium sized spreading tree reaching 25 to 40 feet in height and spread on favorable sites. Leaves are palmately compound, fruit is an inedible nut produced in a husk which splits at maturity.
