How to prep a Jackfruit and announcing a giveaway from OXO

Think of fruit and one expects to nosh on a healthy crunchy / succulent orb with an ethereal aroma, NOT something you have to dissect like a caveman sawing through a mammoth carcass. Well with the jack fruit it is exactly that. It starts with the sheer physical weight & size of the fruit which can range from anywhere from 20 - 80 lbs and measures up to 50 inches in length. The Stalk that attaches the fruit to the tree trunk (yep it grows on the main trunk, since the branches would probably break under the weight!) needs to be sawed to detach the fruit.. (kinda make one nostalgic for picking an apple off a tree, doesn't it!). And this is the easy part.

Well, here's a tutorial for the successful extraction of the divine arils that make you work for the reward of savoring the inimitable flavor. Thanks to the presence of an Ether compound that confers the jack fruit its characteristic flavor & aroma (which is funky & takes a little getting used to), the flavor is a combination of apple, banana & pineapple.

This was a 40 lb specimen

Step 1. Get yourself a section of the fruit (or a whole fruit if you're feeling extra brave) from any Indian or Oriental grocery. They make their appearance at this time of the year.

Step 2: liberally coat your spare chef's knife with a good quality cooking oil (preferably one which does not have an assertive flavor of its own), and keep a pack of Band aids Handy. (or invest in a Kevlar glove)

Step 3: Make 2 perpendicular deep cuts slicing through the central Pithy core (which oozes a sticky latex). Now cut along the green leathery outer skin and detach the wedges. Stretch back the green peel against its normal curvature to expose the golden kernels of fruit from among the matted fibrous entities that didn't quite make the cut to carry a seed!

Using a paring knife, cut across the base to remove the fruit

Pile up the fruits in a bowl (~ 2 lbs)

and the remaining 6 lbs of waste in a trash bag.

Use the fleshy arils to whip up some delicious Jack fruit Pate.

Don't even think of discarding the seeds. they have a flavor and texture similar to chestnuts and are boiled or roasted and eaten in a similar fashion. You can find some chestnut recipes here & here.

Coming up on my next post: a Giveaway from OXO and a recipe for a comfort food breakfast rice crepe.

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