Hey hey hey!!! Today’s post is one that might really knock your socks off. It’s possible that you’ve never heard of this “fruit” before, but I have to say, that it is absolutely DELICIOUS. We’re talking about jackfruit. Fresh, ripe jackfruit.
Fresh, Ripe Jackfruit
This is me posing with my “baby”. I won it at a Melissa’s Produce event. Well, I think they decided that I “won” the contest because I was nearly hysterical about the thing. I had heard so much about jackfruit, and how many people use it as a meat substitute like pulled pork. Being a n00b vegetarian, I had been on the passive hunt for a fresh jackfruit so I could make my own pulled pork, and control all of the ingredients. When I walked into Melissa’s Produce for their “Food Trends of 2017” event, and saw this puppy, I couldn’t contain my excitement!
When I first got this jackfruit, it looked like this. It was very bright yellow with some hints of green. In the picture above, it has ripened over the course of about 7 days, and you can see that it is more yellow with some brown spots. This is perfectly normal, and an indicator of it’s ripeness. This is a fresh, ripe jackfruit.
Ripe vs. Unripe
In my research, this fruit has different applications when it’s un-ripe vs. when it is ripe. As you would imagine, it’s much sweeter when ripe, and you can’t really use ripe jackfruit with a vegan pulled pork recipe as it would be too sweet. The pulled pork that I wanted to try so badly uses un-ripe fruit, and uses both the actual fruit, and the stringy bits that encapsulate the fruit pods. I let mine fully ripen, so the recipes that will follow over the next weeks use the sweet, delicious, ripe fruit. Vegan pulled pork will be made the next time I get my hands on a jackfruit.
Anatomy Of A Fresh, Ripe Jackfruit
The jackfruit is big. Some can be about two feet long. If you cut it lengthwise as you see here, there is a large core in the middle that is not edible. You see large seeds, that are about 1″ in diameter. The seeds are encapsulated by the actual “fruit”, and there are a bunch of stringy bits that lie in-between the individual fruits. To process the fruit, you run your knife along the perimeter of the core, and remove it the best you can, as it’s large and awkward. They say that the jackfruit has a glue-like sap that emerges when cut. I didn’t experience this, and I postulate that because the sugars had time to develop, that the sap was non-existent. Without the sugars, there would be more starch, causing more stickiness. If you cut an un-ripe jackfruit, be prepared for major cleanup and sticky glue that is difficult to clean.
Below, you can see a fruit “pod” that has been removed from the whole. To get to the seed, you have to cut the fruit pod open, and separate the seed. There is a jacket-like covering around the seed that should be discarded. Save the seeds, as they are entirely edible (recipe is coming soon), though there is a harder shell that needs to be removed for that too. Yes, this is quite a bit of work, but it was very satisfying for me!
This is what the entire operation looked like. You can see the seeds and fruit separated from the whole which still contained the stringy bits. At the time, I didn’t realize that the stringy bits were indeed part of what made up the pulled pork. This was a trial run, so better luck next time for me!
Look at this fresh, ripe jackfruit! To me, it tasted most like a slightly over-ripe cantaloupe, but with a chewier, slippery texture. Cantaloupe can sometimes have grassy notes, but the jackfruit does not. The texture reminded me of perfectly cooked calamari – not gummy, but perfectly chewy.
It seemed that coconut would be a delightful combination, so I decided to make a smoothie with a Melissa’s Produce Coconut Heart.
We drink a ton of smoothies in this house, so whenever I conjure one up, it has to have that perfect fiber-to-sugar ratio. There’s not an exact ratio – I just don’t want to have a smoothie entirely of sugar-rich fruits. So, for this one in particular, the jackfruit was so sweet, it needed a fibrous veg, and that veg is oftentimes celery. It has a mild enough flavor that gets overpowered by the sugary fruit, and you can’t even tell that it’s there. Bump up the fiber with low flavor sacrifice.
The normal American diet consumes about 12 grams of fiber per day, but according to the Institute of Medicine, men should consume 38g fiber, and women, 25g. The ratio for consuming a meal is 10-1, carbs to fiber, according to Berkeley Wellness. This ratio is based on naturally occurring ratios of 38 grains. So, for this particular smoothie, which could easily be a meal based on its caloric statistics, is slightly over the ratio, at 11.5:1 carbs to fiber. So while it is pretty sugary, it still comes pretty close to the normal ratio, so I’m OK with it. It just means that you’ll have to plan other meals accordingly – get more fiber and minimal sugar in elsewhere!
To give this smoothie a little more decadence, add some dried coconut on top, or serve in a bowl, with toasted pinenuts, blackberries, and more dried coconut!
Fresh, Ripe Jackfruit Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Fresh, Ripe Jackfruit
- 2 Whole Bananas @ roughly 7 inches
- 1 Cup Chopped Celery
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Coconut
- 1 1/4 Cups Coconut Water
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Divide into two large glasses or bowls, and top with blackberries, dried coconut, and toasted pine nuts.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Melissa’s produce provided me with the jackfruit and coconut for this recipe. I was not compensated in any other way, and all opinions are my own.
What a great post. Now I want a jackfruit.
You completely took away the intimidation factor of this previously mysterious fruit. Thank you.
Jackfruit was a pleasant new adventure, loved everything about it!
I’d love to try this fruit. It seems delightful!
great writeup. i literally just bought one from my local asian market (we processed it last night, and i found your post because i wanted to know what to do with the “sweet” parts, not the “meat” parts), and the nice checkout lady gave me great advice on the sticky stuff left over on knife and hands….don’t wash your hands in soap. before you start cutting into the jackfruit, pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil into a prep cup or small bowl.
when you’re done, pour a little oil into your hands, scrub together, then rinse and hand soap, then oil again if you need.
WORKED LIKE MAGIC.
I substituted 2 carrots for the celery and added 1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger. Tastes great. Also, my local Albertsons had been getting jackfruit in every Friday since early summer and I live in Utah.
I have heard a lot about jackfruit but have never had opportunity to purchase it. I found a frozen package a couple of weeks ago and wanted to make a smoothie. I was so disappointed to find that among all the recipes I have there was not a single one with jackfruit in it. I have no skills in terns of making anything taste right and am a slave to recipes. Thank you for this, it will get lots of use.
Ohhh this makes me so happy Fayette!! Please enjoy! Don’t be afraid to experiment too! Add some berries to give it a beautiful purple/red color! <3
Always interested in new jackfruit recipes, I have 5 jackfruit trees and harvest about 100 fruit a year, my largest weighed 105 lbs. Just a couple of things I’ve learned . The sticky white sap seems to be quite random and doesn’t seem to be tied to the ripeness of the fruit. If it is bad you can slightly coat your hands with cooking oil. Also to clean knives, dishes etc. use boiling water and the sap will wipe right off. The nuts are also edible after cooking. I boil mine with a little salt and chili powder then bake them dry
I was so excited to try Jackfruit, BUT I cannot get past the smell. Noone has mentioned anything about what it should smell like. The smell is not sweet. Could it be too ripe?
Hello Anna! Thank you for the comment! If you’re smelling the canned jackfruit, it will not be sweet at all. That is used in more savory applications. They’re usually packed in a briny water. Fresh on the otherhand – the short answer is that it depends. I’ve only ever cut open a ripe jackfruit, and the odor wasn’t unpleasant for me. Ripe jackfruit will be yellowish brown on the outside as opposed to green. Think of it as being like a banana. Unripe will be a greenish/yellow, and ripe turns a deeper yellow with brown spots. It has an aroma of tropical-like smells like papaya or guava, though it is definitely it’s own unique scent. The taste of a ripe jackfruit is sweet, and the fruit itself will be a darker yellow. The scent of an un-ripe jackfruit isn’t unpleasant to me either, but as far as taste, I can’t speak to that. I’ve always let my jackfruit ripen. Sometimes jackfruit is confused with durian, because they look similar. I’ve never smelled durian, but have heard that it’s absolutely terrible though the fruit tastes good. I hope this helps, Anna!
I was eating the ripe jackfruitfor a few days and kept asking myself how i can use the last 5 cups so i just looked in my fridge and pantry and came up with this…it turned out amazing..I took my ripe jackfruit leftovers and added some sunny D (lol) i was just trying to preserve it for a little longer..then a packet of banna pudding i found in my cubbord and mixed it in my blender..then refrigerated it..made an awesome pudding..i loved it..try it with any leftover ripe jackfruit meat..cteated this recipe totally by accident but wow did it turn out great..
I have just come across your site and it looks fantastic , final verdict will be when I’m munching my way through it. I love jack fruit such a wonderful, tasty and nutritious fruit.
I am so lucky because I live in Thailand and Yesterday on my way back was a pickup truck selling his homegrown jack fruits with his wife.
10 baht a kilo about I bought 2 one 9kg and the other 10 kg so roughly about $ 2.5 each ,, because I gave a little tip his wife gave us another one free 12 kg . I said thank you and paid for it.
So if you have anymore recipes for breakfast, brunch, lunch , and every other meal time let me know :))))
Stay safe all and Happy Jack Fruit day
Question – does one rinse the fruit once you have removed the seeds from the fruit bulbs? I have found no references to rinsing the fruit after its removal from the rag.
Question I have found no references to rinsing the fruit after its removal from the rag. Is a rinse needed?
Hello J! There’s no rag involved with the removal of the fruit. As long as you have clean hands while separating the fruit from the stringy bits, and remove the seed from the pods, there’s no reason to wash it unless you’re concerned about it’s appearance. We were sneaking bites of the fruit as we were working on this monster. 🙂
I think by rags, he meant “stingy bits”. =)