this post is not necessarily a recipe. it is more of a shout out to this amazing fruit. as the title stated, jack fruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh. they seriously know what is up.
i was doing my normal fruit shopping at our local kroger (like any safeway, fred meyer, etc.) and i noticed this large, prickly, brown object placed next to the grapes. oh how the grapes looked tiny in comparison to this fruit. at first glance, i suspected it to be durian (which i have also yet to try), but the closer i got to it, i realized it is jack fruit. they had three. without hesitation i googled how to pick a good jack fruit. some tips i have gathered from my quick research is that you want to be able to push the body a bit and for it to give. (i share my tips at the end of the post.) once i walked up to the cash register, they scanned it in and it was $30! holy wow. i was not expecting that high, but since i just had a birthday and have not had jack fruit before, i decided to plunge for the experience. i mean i have spent $30 easily out at the bar before so to enjoy a healthy, high energy fruit was a no brainer.
as i am writing this post i am enjoying the fruit. like everybody says it does taste like bubblegum. it could also be described as a mix of mango and cantaloupe. i would suggest to go in with a friend if you are curious about this fruit, or get a smaller portion at an international grocer. i have never seen it before so i just dived right in.
tips i have learned:
it is not like a ripe avocado, more like if you were to press your bicep muscle when not flexed. it is not squishy, but it does give a little. you can also smell if it is ready or not. the closer to being perfectly ripe, the sweeter the outside will smell. also, wait until the outside gets large brown spots, and is on the verge of going moldy, similar to a papaya. when you do decide to eat it, break out your latex gloves, some oil (yeah, gross oil like canola) but the oil is to act as a lubricant for your gloves and knife. (which i recommend to use your non-favorite knife.) the reason for this step is because a lot of jack fruit has a latex inside that will literally get over everything. i took the necessary steps to prevent any disasters that i witnessed while watching numerous you tube videos on how to cut the pods out. i lined the kitchen island with plastic wrap, got my gloves and oil and went on my way to deconstruct this piece of fruit architecture.
happy fruit munching!
i was doing my normal fruit shopping at our local kroger (like any safeway, fred meyer, etc.) and i noticed this large, prickly, brown object placed next to the grapes. oh how the grapes looked tiny in comparison to this fruit. at first glance, i suspected it to be durian (which i have also yet to try), but the closer i got to it, i realized it is jack fruit. they had three. without hesitation i googled how to pick a good jack fruit. some tips i have gathered from my quick research is that you want to be able to push the body a bit and for it to give. (i share my tips at the end of the post.) once i walked up to the cash register, they scanned it in and it was $30! holy wow. i was not expecting that high, but since i just had a birthday and have not had jack fruit before, i decided to plunge for the experience. i mean i have spent $30 easily out at the bar before so to enjoy a healthy, high energy fruit was a no brainer.
as i am writing this post i am enjoying the fruit. like everybody says it does taste like bubblegum. it could also be described as a mix of mango and cantaloupe. i would suggest to go in with a friend if you are curious about this fruit, or get a smaller portion at an international grocer. i have never seen it before so i just dived right in.
tips i have learned:
it is not like a ripe avocado, more like if you were to press your bicep muscle when not flexed. it is not squishy, but it does give a little. you can also smell if it is ready or not. the closer to being perfectly ripe, the sweeter the outside will smell. also, wait until the outside gets large brown spots, and is on the verge of going moldy, similar to a papaya. when you do decide to eat it, break out your latex gloves, some oil (yeah, gross oil like canola) but the oil is to act as a lubricant for your gloves and knife. (which i recommend to use your non-favorite knife.) the reason for this step is because a lot of jack fruit has a latex inside that will literally get over everything. i took the necessary steps to prevent any disasters that i witnessed while watching numerous you tube videos on how to cut the pods out. i lined the kitchen island with plastic wrap, got my gloves and oil and went on my way to deconstruct this piece of fruit architecture.
happy fruit munching!