BREADFRUIT

Common Name: Breadfruit
Vernacular Name: Sukan, Ulu
Botanical Name: Artocarpus altilis
Specimens From: Malaysia
Specimens Weight: 940 gm [2 lb 1.2 oz]

Breadfruit is likely to be native to Malesian and Western Micronesia. It later spread to the rest of the Pacific Islands and also to most tropical countries.

The fruit is usually ovoid or round shape, bigger than a large grapefruit or about the size of a small pomelo. When unripe, the rough rind is green and hard and the interior is white. When fully ripe, it will turn greenish-yellow, softer and creamy yellow on the inside with a sweet fragrant. Most cultivars are seedless.

Breadfruit can be eaten raw as a dessert when it is ripe and it can be very filling! But it is more popular when in its unripe stage. It is a stable food in several places, especially in the Pacific Islands. Similar to the potato and the sweet potato, they are rich in starch. Often used as a vegetable as it can be steamed, boiled, baked, fried or roasted. It is so versatile that it can be cooked with other vegetables or even fish or meat.

Breadfruit, Steamed

It can be roasted whole, on a outdoor opened fire. Peel it only when is is done. Or discard the skin, core and seeds [if there's any] and chopped it into cubes. I prefer steaming as it is the healthiest way. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, margarine, mayonnaise or whatever you like to taste. Think of it as a replacement for the potato and eat it the same way as you always do.


Fruit: Breadfruit; Artocarpus altilis; Moraceae.


Other fruit in the same family: Cempedak


Click here to view other types of fruits


Click here to add your favorite fruits

CEMPEDAK

Common Name: Cempedak
Vernacular Name: Chempedak
Botanical Name: Artocarpus champeden
Specimens From: Malaysia
Specimens Weight: 1104 gm [2 lb 6.9 oz]

Cempedak, the smaller cousin of the well-known, jackfruit. It adopts the Malay name as it does not have an English name. It is a seasonal fruit native to southeast Asia.

Cempedak looks similar to the jackfruit except that it is much smaller in size but it is large in comparison to other fruits. It is also sweeter, stickier and with a strong odor when it is ripe.

You will know when it is ripe as it will emit a strong odor that fills the room, similar to the durian. It will turn light green with dark brown spots appearing on several of the flattened studs. It is also slightly sticky when you touch it due to the secretion of latex through the rind.

The rind is thick but soft, so it is easy to cut it length-wise into half. There are many fleshy, yellowish-orange pulp which encases each brown seed inside. The pulp is sweet, sticky and mushy with a rather chewy skin if you eat it raw. Another style is fried cempedak, a popular Malay snack. It is very tasty. The hard seeds can be eaten too when boiled or roasted.


Cempedak; Chempedak; Artocarpus champeden; Moraceae.


Click here to add your favorite fruits


Or click on any of the fruit thumbnails to go to that page: