What is jackfruit? How to use jackfruit as a meat substitute (2024)

FAQs

What is jackfruit? How to use jackfruit as a meat substitute? ›

Unripe (green) jackfruit is neutral-tasting and is best when cooked to absorb the flavors around it. It can be used in curries and stir-fries, sautéed with Mexican-inspired spices for a taco filling, or simmered with barbecue flavors for a plant-based version of pulled pork or pulled chicken.

Jackfruit is a great addition to curries as it takes on the flavour of the sauce as it bubbles away. It also works beautifully in tacos, when shredded and mixed with your favourite spices it's hard to tell the difference between jackfruit and pulled pork.

Compared to ripe jackfruit, unripe jackfruit has a stringy, meaty texture similar to that of beef or pork. This texture—along with the fruit's neutral, almost bland taste, which can accommodate the flavor of whatever it's cooked in—is a large reason why jackfruit is such a popular meat alternative.

What Does Jackfruit Taste Like? Ripe yellow jackfruit has a subtly sweet flavor, often described as a combination of banana, apple, and mango. Young green jackfruit, on the other hand, has a neutral flavor and texture similar to shredded meat, making it a popular meat substitute in savory dishes.

Jackfruit can also be harmful if you eat it with milk or carbonated drinks. It may cause digestion and skin issues. You should avoid drinking water after the consumption of jackfruit as it can lead to diarrhoea. Jackfruit is a high water content fruit that smoothes out bowel movements.

Research shows that eating jackfruit can potentially reduce the risk of heart disease. “The combination of potassium, fiber and antioxidants can benefit heart health,” Culbertson says. Potassium combats the negative effects of sodium on your blood pressure, while fiber contributes to lowering your cholesterol levels.

Again, the canned jackfruit is perfectly safe to eat straight out of the can, but it tends to taste best warm and with seasoning. If you're craving the fruit in a meal, try making our pulled jackfruit tacos recipe that features the perfect flavor balance of garlic and minced serrano chiles.

For centuries, the combination of jackfruit and any dairy product has been forbidden and is said to cause indigestion and skin diseases.

Jackfruit is an important source of vitamins and minerals in everyone's diet, because it's eaten directly without cooking, so it can keep the vitamin and mineral content.

Some think it's sweet, while others do indeed liken it to the taste of pulled pork. This is especially true when cooked, and you'll find it used regularly in the place of pulled pork or chicken in the best vegan cookbooks.

Can you eat jackfruit by itself? ›

Meanwhile, ripe jackfruit is sweet and tropical. It tastes like a mix of banana, mango, and pineapple. The texture is dense and firm like pineapple. You can eat it by itself or add it to smoothies.

Ripe jackfruit is commonly eaten raw like other fruits, or it can be used in sweet applications like desserts. Unripe or young green jackfruit can be consumed raw as well, but because of its neutral flavor, it is much more suited for absorbing flavor in savory cooking applications.

The compounds in Jackfruit may help lower blood pressure and help manage heart disease and stroke. The high potassium content of Jackfruit may help reduce blood pressure that affects the blood vessels and heart. However, if you are suffering from any heart conditions, you need to talk to your healthcare provider.

After all, fresh jackfruits can be found in many parts of Brazil for the equivalent of $1.10 (81p)each, and are similarly affordable in many other tropical countries. They can even be picked for free from the trees in many places, but the vast majority - at least in Brazil - are left to rot on the streets.

Because you can eat it raw or cooked, how to eat jackfruit is pretty straightforward if you want to cook it; there are no proper doneness safety concerns.

It's not so strange when you consider the fibres in underripe jackfruit mimic the fibrous layers of protein strands that make up meat. This means that unripe jackfruit, when cooked, is similar in texture and appearance to chicken, pork, beef and even fish.

Jackfruit contains a substance called fructans, a carbohydrate type that can cause gas and bloat in some people. Additionally, jackfruit seeds contain lectins, which are proteins that can bind to carbohydrates and cause intestinal discomfort.

Jackfruit is also rich in potassium which aids in lowering blood pressure and reversing the effects of sodium that causes a rise in blood pressure that affects the heart and blood vessels. This in turn prevents heart disease, strokes and bone loss and improves muscle and nerve function [44].

9. Jackfruit. Jackfruit is high in fiber, and contains 2.6 g of fiber for every 100 g of the fruit. Therefore it is a great natural laxative for combating constipation.

Jackfruit is ready to be harvested when the color of the fruit turns fully yellow from green. In fact, jackfruit becomes more yellow as it ripens. Think of it as similar to a banana that slowly turns yellow as it ripens. Another way to check if it's ripe is to give it a scent test.

Is the jackfruit male or female? ›

When Jackfruit start to flower they are nearly always male flowers. Male flowers have thin stems while the females have stems as thick as your little finger. Male and female flowers are borne in separate flower-heads. Male flower-heads are on new wood among the leaves or above the female.

No, drinking water after eating jackfruit may lead to diarrhoea. As jackfruit is high in water content it smooths bowel movement.

A fascinating "multiple fruit," a single jackfruit is actually composed of hundreds (or thousands!) of mature flowers, each of which are edible. Native to and most commonly used in South and Southeast Asia, it can be eaten raw when it's ripe or cooked when it's unripe.

Jackfruit is rich in carbohydrates, which are high in natural sugars. Those are bad for diabetic patients in large doses. Still, jackfruit is also less in calories and has a moderate glycemic index. It includes insoluble fibre and some protein, hampers digestion, and keeps blood sugar stable.

Jackfruit is ready to be harvested when the color of the fruit turns fully yellow from green. In fact, jackfruit becomes more yellow as it ripens. Think of it as similar to a banana that slowly turns yellow as it ripens. Another way to check if it's ripe is to give it a scent test.