I had never heard of jackfruit until a friend shared some with me. The fruit can be eaten as is or prepared many ways. I presume that is how it got its name, and why it is called the jack of all fruits. My girlfriend brought me canned unripe jackfruit, which many people are substituting for meat or tofu in recipes. From what I have read, the fruit becomes sweeter, and takes on a different taste when it is left to grow to its ripe stage. The color is more yellow in the ripe jackfruit photos I saw.
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| Unripe canned jackfruit |
If you do an Internet search for jackfruit, you will find many articles stating how healthy the fruit is. I found minimal points from people who stated that the fruit is overrated and nothing to rave about. I tend to agree with the minority of people, although not really for any of the reasons others stated. When I read the canned label, I thought the sugar and sodium content was high. Jackfruit does have less calories and fat than extra firm tofu, so I guess it depends what you want to stay away from, or add into your diet.
Different kinds of jackfruit
- Unripe or green: usually canned in brine, or packaged like tofu in water. Unripe jackfruit is the kind to use in recipes for a meat substitute.
- Ripe: consumed fresh, and it is sold canned in syrup. I assume this tastes more like fruit, since the color is yellow, and everyone states that it is sweeter.
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| Jackfruit (tuna) salad |
Taste and preparation
I have only tried canned unripe jackfruit packaged in brine. I thought the taste was merely okay by itself. It did not have a foul taste, nor was it so good I desired more. The flavor did not remind me of anything I had eaten before. The consistency reminded me of canned or pouch albacore tuna, so I decided to prepare and try it that way. Everything I had read online said it is versatile, although most ideas said to use it in place of pork (which is what my girlfriend did).
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| Canned jackfruit on a sandwich |
I mixed the jackfruit with mayo dressing I had prepared a few days earlier (olive oil mayo, nonfat Greek yogurt, fresh basil), chopped celery, and chopped red onion. I tasted some of this by itself, and I tried some on a sandwich. The taste was okay, although it certainly did not taste like tuna. The flavor was kind of bland.
My girlfriend said the pulled pork sandwich she made was good, and tasted like pork. Since unripe jackfruit does not have much flavor, I suppose cooking it in a sauce like one would for pulled pork, would give it more flavor than just mixing it up with other ingredients like I did. I wanted to try something different, though!
Overall
I am not sure I will become a regular consumer of jackfruit. If I try it again, I would want to try the "naked" variety packaged only in water. The labels I found online show that this variety does not have the high sodium or sugar content that the canned brine variety contained. I could only find this type of jackfruit available in bulk, and the cost was quite high (around $12 for a 30 oz. package via their website or Amazon, with shipping).
Please share your thoughts and experiences!
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