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Have I got a fruit for you!! For background, I love fruit. I will gobble up a fifth of a watermelon while standing at the counter, cutting it up. In the continental US, I adored summer for the peaches, the fall for the berries, and all the warm months for the farmers markets.
Today's fruit however, has character. It is fairly large (50cm x 30cm) and green, with the skin texture similar to breadfruit (but more spiney). It's aroma is sweet and thick. And it's flesh is a tropical bubble-gum flavor. Nonetheless, it is a little much for me-it is my nemesis, the jackfruit!
I had been watching these fruit come into season in the yard of my apartment, and finally decided that I was going to have one of these giants to myself. I found out from my landlord that I should pick them when they have some give (I wouldn't describe them as soft) and when you can smell their aroma. To my surprise, their tough armor does indeed have some give when the fruit is ripe.
I hauled one of these mama's back to my apartment, cut one piece, gulped down two "petals" (see pic) and left the rest on my counter. In the morning, I found my kitchen wafting of jackfruit, and promptly took the remaining 5 kilos of it to work.
2 things convinced me to try the fruit again. One is that the people at work who loved jackfruit really loved it. One gal from Jamaica was raving about it all afternoon, and about had a fit when she found out she was not the first to know about the fruit I was pawning off. To my surprise, one of the Americans (US) also appreciated the flavor, and was surprised at my lack of interest. From the Jamaican gal, I learned that you could boil or roast and salt the seeds for a snack. From Wikipedia I learned that the immature fruit can be cooked in dishes such as curries.
The second thing that convinced me to try jackfruit again, was I read an article stating that people may not appreciate a food until they have tried it 10-12 times. Well, it can't hurt.
So I picked another aromatic giant, and this time, following the advice of my co-worker, I cut out the peg (or core) from the center, to remove the fruit 'easily.' 20 minutes later, I had a dinner-plate piled with fruit, and half more of the fruit to peel (see pic)! Not to mention, my hands were very sticky (I later read, that you could put oil on your hands and the knife to spare you the sticky-ness). Phew! I immediately tossed out the peel, to cut down on the smell in my apartment. After a break, I peeled the rest. Some I soaked in some salt water (at the suggestion of the Jamaican), some I put to dry (at the suggestion of the American).
At the end of the weekend, I was through with the fruit. The salt did not seem to do it for me, and the birds had eaten my drying fruit. I did get to enjoy some seeds, though. They taste like potato. Again I showed up to work with 5 kilos of fruit. The Jamaican said she wasn't sharing this time. . .
