What image would you choose to symbolise bountiful? I found my image outside my window in Kerala. An absolutely amazing fruit laden, jack fruit tree. I've never seen anything like it.
If this isn't bountiful I don't know what is.
There's fruit resting on the ground!
Jack fruit can get really large, three times the size of what you see in this picture but on this particular tree I was told the larger fruit in the picture will be ready to cut off the tree in a couple of days.
When the stem of the jack fruit is cut it produces a milky sap.
Look at that texture.When is a jack fruit ready to be harvested? When a large proportion of the short spiky protrusions flatten out like in the upper portion of the image. It takes another week or so before its ready to be cut open.A jack fruit came back with me to Bangalore and I spent two hours cutting and taking out the pods. Its sticky and messy business, cutting a jack fruit. One needs to put oil on the knife and on your hands, therefore there are no pictures of the inside of the jack fruit. Maybe next time. No pictures of the fruit either which occupied most of the lower shelf of my fridge and it was jack fruit for two weeks every night while we watched the IPL cricket matches. There were various recipes suggested by friends - payasam, puttu, pradaman but we love it fresh.
Now all that remains is a large bowl of the seeds. Do you have a recipe for jack fruit seeds that you can suggest? I'm keeping a few of the seeds to germinate into seedlings, a tree like this needs to be propagated and the goodness shared don't you think.
13 comments:
What fascinating pictures and an amazing tree and fruit! Would love to know what it tastes like!! How long does it take for the tree to grow to produce fruit?? Love all of these wonderful glimpses into an amazing culture!!! Please have someone take pictures when you cut into the ripe fruit!!!!
Oh Elizabeth,the flesh is firm and a lovely golden yellow and sweet. No pictures I'm afraid because there was no one around when I cut the jack fruit which is a sticky,messy affair and I couldn't afford to get any of it on my camera.
I'll get some pictures of the fruit pods and post them at some later date.
Hello Maya, I have become a follower,I am in the UK but have visited Mumbai and Goa many years ago and my head is still filled with the beautiful things I saw there - having found your beautiful blogs I finally have a little piece of India to keep me happy! thankyou for your beautiful pictures.
Nice to meet you Mrs Yappy Dog,I'm delighted that my blog is a little window on India which will keep you going until you make that train journey through India.Thank you for following my blogs its great motivation.
Sheer eye candy! Green and gorgeous. And i know wxactly what u mena by the messy business..i've seen ma cutting them and i haven't ever ventured into doing it myself!!
Hi there Ketchup,thank you.Cutting this jackfruit was a first for me.Not exactly dying to cut another but I don't dread it and the reward is so sweet I guess I'll cut it should a jack fruit come my way right now.
Hi!
I'm from Brazil, we have jack fruit here. When she' becoming 'yellowish' is when she's sweet. I love this fruit a lot! I miss have them around... I hope you enjoy!
hey maya, amit's wife here. discovered your blog thru his fb page. love food-related writing, love jackfruits. thought i'd say smthing since you seem to have seeds left and are looking for a recipe. have you tried the chaka-kuru thoran? you can thoranize the seeds any which way you like - or i can get you specific recipe from my mum...
Hello Clara,good to hear from you and its nice to know you have jack fruit in Brazil. Is it just eaten as fresh fruit or are there sweet and savoury dishes prepared with the fruit/seeds, I wonder.
Hi there Anita. I know about the chaka-kuru toran but since I thoranize most other vegetables I was wondering if there was any other way of cooking them.I'd like that recipe anyway, its probably different from what I do and would be a change or would help improve my recipe.
I've never heard of Jack fruit. What doe te inside look like? Is it a dessert or a savoury? Isn't it great that what is commonplace to you is so exotic to a lot of your readers.
I've never heard of it either... but it"s amazing! Could you toast the seeds ( like pumpkin seeds at Halloween?) in the oven with a little oil and salt?
Jackie ripe jack fruit is sweet.Its eaten like any other fresh fruit.The fresh fruit is also cooked into desserts and the seeds into a savoury vegetable accompaniment to a typical Malayali meal.All very exotic I must say.
Bettina - jack fruit seeds are large, like a pebble actually, so toasting won't work and they are quite hard.
Your blog introduces me to another world.
And your embroidery
teaching is helping me as a beginner.
Thank you!
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