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The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the
fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
,
mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identif ...
, and
breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of ''Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippi ...
family ( Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, and the rainforests of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The jack tree is well-suited to tropical lowlands, and is widely cultivated throughout tropical regions of the world. It bears the largest fruit of all trees, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in diameter. A mature jack tree produces some 200 fruits per year, with older trees bearing up to 500 fruits in a year. The jackfruit is a
multiple fruit Multi-fruits, also called collective fruits, are fruiting bodies formed from a cluster of flowers, the ''inflorescence''. Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass. After flowering the mass is called a ...
composed of hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, and the fleshy petals of the unripe fruit are eaten. The ripe fruit is sweet (depending on variety) and is more often used for desserts. Canned green jackfruit has a mild taste and meat-like texture that lends itself to being called a "vegetable meat". Jackfruit is commonly used in
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
cuisines.''The encyclopedia of fruit & nuts'', By Jules Janick, Robert E. Paull, pp. 481–485 Both ripe and unripe fruits are consumed. It is available internationally canned or frozen and in chilled meals as are various products derived from the fruit such as noodles and chips.


Etymology and common name

The word ''jackfruit'' comes from Portuguese , which in turn is derived from the Malayalam language term (Malayalam: ), when the Portuguese arrived in India at Kozhikode ( Calicut) on the Malabar Coast ( Kerala) in 1499. Later the Malayalam name () was recorded by
Hendrik van Rheede Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein (Amsterdam, 13 April 1636 – at sea, 15 December 1691) was a military man and a colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company and naturalist. Between 1669 and 1676 he served as a governor of D ...
(1678–1703) in the , vol. iii in Latin. Henry Yule translated the book in Jordanus Catalani's () ''Mirabilia descripta: the wonders of the East''. This term is in turn derived from the Proto-Dravidian root ("fruit, vegetable"). The common English name "jackfruit" was used by physician and naturalist
Garcia de Orta Garcia de Orta (or Garcia d'Orta) (1501 – 1568) was a Sephardic Jewish physician, herbalist and naturalist of the Portuguese Renaissance, who worked primarily in the former Portuguese capital of Goa and the Bombay territory (Chaul, Bassein & Da ...
in his 1563 book .''Oxford English Dictionary'', Second Edition, 1989, online edition Centuries later, botanist
Ralph Randles Stewart Ralph Randles Stewart (April 15, 1890 – November 6, 1993) usually referred to as R. R. Stewart, was a botanist and principal of Gordon College (Pakistan). Education Stewart was born in Hebron, New York. He obtained his B.A. and Ph.D. deg ...
suggested it was named after William Jack (1795–1822), a Scottish botanist who worked for the East India Company in Bengal,
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, and
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
.


History

The jackfruit was domesticated independently in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as indicated by the Southeast Asian names which are not derived from the Sanskrit
roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
. It was probably first domesticated by Austronesians in Java or the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
. The fruit was later introduced to Guam via Filipino settlers when both were part of the Spanish Empire. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh and the state fruit of Kerala.


Botanical description


Shape, trunk and leaves

''Artocarpus heterophyllus'' grows as an evergreen tree that has a relatively short trunk with a dense treetop. It easily reaches heights of and trunk diameters of . It sometimes forms buttress roots. The bark of the jackfruit tree is reddish-brown and smooth. In the event of injury to the bark, a milky juice is released. The leaves are alternate and spirally arranged. They are gummy and thick and are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole is long. The leathery leaf blade is long, and wide and is oblong to
ovate Ovate may refer to: *Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...
in shape. In young trees, the leaf edges are irregularly lobed or split. On older trees, the leaves are rounded and dark green, with a smooth leaf margin. The leaf blade has a prominent main
nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...
and starting on each side six to eight lateral nerves. The stipules are egg-shaped at a length of .


Flowers and fruit

The inflorescences are formed on the trunk, branches or twigs (
cauliflory Cauliflory is a botanical term referring to plants that flower and fruit from their main stems or woody trunks, rather than from new growth and shoots. This can allow trees to be pollinated or have their seeds dispersed by animals that climb o ...
). Jackfruit trees are
monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...
, having both female and male flowers on a tree. The inflorescences are
pedunculated A peduncle is an elongated stalk of tissue. Sessility is the state of not having a peduncle; a sessile mass or structure lacks a stalk. In medicine, a mass such as a cyst or polyp is said to be ''pedunculated'' if it is supported by a peduncle ...
, cylindrical to ellipsoidal or pear-shaped, to about long and wide. Inflorescences are initially completely enveloped in egg-shaped cover sheets which rapidly slough off. The flowers are small, sitting on a fleshy rachis. The male flowers are greenish, some flowers are sterile. The male flowers are hairy and the perianth ends with two membrane. The individual and prominent
stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s are straight with yellow, roundish anthers. After the pollen distribution, the stamens become ash-gray and fall off after a few days. Later all the male inflorescences also fall off. The greenish female flowers, with hairy and tubular perianth, have a fleshy flower-like base. The female flowers contain an ovary with a broad, capitate, or rarely bilobed scar. The blooming time ranges from December until February or March. The ellipsoidal to roundish fruit is a
multiple fruit Multi-fruits, also called collective fruits, are fruiting bodies formed from a cluster of flowers, the ''inflorescence''. Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass. After flowering the mass is called a ...
formed from the fusion of the ovaries of multiple flowers. The fruits grow on a long and thick stem on the trunk. They vary in size and ripen from an initially yellowish-greenish to yellow, and then at maturity to yellowish-brown. They possess a hard, gummy shell with small pimples surrounded with hard, hexagonal tubercles. The large and variously shaped fruit have a length of and a diameter of and can weigh or more. The fruits consist of a fibrous, whitish core ( rachis) about thick. Radiating from this are many individual fruits. They are elliptical to egg-shaped, light brownish
achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...
s with a length of about and a diameter of . There may be about 100–500 seeds per fruit. The seed coat consists of a thin, waxy, parchment-like and easily removable testa (husk) and a brownish, membranous
tegmen A tegmen (plural: ''tegmina'') designates the modified leathery front wing on an insect particularly in the orders Dermaptera ( earwigs), Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets and similar families), Mantodea (praying mantis), Phasmatodea (stick an ...
. The cotyledons are usually unequal in size, and the
endosperm The endosperm is a tissue produced inside the seeds of most of the flowering plants following double fertilization. It is triploid (meaning three chromosome sets per nucleus) in most species, which may be auxin-driven. It surrounds the embryo and ...
is minimally present. An average fruit consists of 27% edible seed coat, 15% edible seeds, 20% white pulp (undeveloped perianth, rags) and bark and 10% core. The fruit matures during the rainy season from July to August. The bean-shaped achenes of the jackfruit are coated with a firm yellowish
aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...
(seed coat, flesh), which has an intense sweet taste at maturity of the fruit. The pulp is enveloped by many narrow strands of fiber (undeveloped perianth), which run between the hard shell and the core of the fruit and are firmly attached to it. When pruned, the inner part (core) secretes a sticky, milky liquid, which can hardly be removed from the skin, even with soap and water. To clean the hands after "unwinding" the pulp an oil or other solvent is used. For example, street vendors in Tanzania, who sell the fruit in small segments, provide small bowls of kerosene for their customers to cleanse their sticky fingers. When fully ripe, jackfruit has a strong pleasant aroma, the pulp of the opened fruit resembles the odor of pineapple and banana.


Food

Ripe jackfruit is naturally sweet, with subtle pineapple- or banana-like flavor. It can be used to make a variety of dishes, including custards, cakes, or mixed with shaved ice as '' es teler'' in Indonesia or '' halo-halo'' in the Philippines. For the traditional breakfast dish in southern India, '' idlis'', the fruit is used with rice as an ingredient and jackfruit leaves are used as a wrapping for steaming. Jackfruit ''
dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufville ...
s'' can be prepared by grinding jackfruit flesh along with the batter. Ripe jackfruit arils are sometimes seeded, fried, or freeze-dried and sold as jackfruit chips. The seeds from ripe fruits are edible once cooked, and are said to have a milky, sweet taste often compared to
Brazil nut The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. ...
s. They may be boiled, baked, or roasted. When roasted, the flavor of the seeds is comparable to chestnuts. Seeds are used as snacks (either by boiling or fire-roasting) or to make desserts. In Java, the seeds are commonly cooked and seasoned with salt as a snack. They are commonly used in curry in India in the form of a traditional lentil and vegetable mix curry. Young leaves are tender enough to be used as a vegetable.


Aroma

Jackfruit has a distinctive sweet and fruity aroma. In a study of flavour volatiles in five jackfruit cultivars, the main volatile compounds detected were
ethyl isovalerate Ethyl isovalerate is an organic compound that is the ester formed from ethyl alcohol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the che ...
, propyl isovalerate, butyl isovalerate, isobutyl isovalerate,
3-methylbutyl acetate Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an organic compound that is the ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the molecular formula C7H14O2.It is a colorless liquid that is only slightly soluble in water, but very ...
,
1-butanol 1-Butanol, also known as butan-1-ol or ''n''-butanol, is a primary alcohol with the chemical formula C4H9OH and a linear structure. Isomers of 1-butanol are isobutanol, butan-2-ol and ''tert''-butanol. The unmodified term butanol usually refers t ...
, and
2-methylbutan-1-ol 2-Methyl-1-butanol (IUPAC name, also called active amyl alcohol) is an organic compound with the formula CH3CH2CH(CH3)CH2OH. It is one of several isomers of amyl alcohol. A colorless liquid, it occurs naturally in trace amounts and has attracte ...
. A fully ripe and unopened jackfruit is known to "emit a strong aroma" – perhaps unpleasant – with the inside of the fruit described as smelling of pineapple and banana. After roasting, the seeds may be used as a commercial alternative to chocolate aroma.


Nutritional value

The edible pulp is 74% water, 23%
carbohydrates In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...
, 2% protein, and 1% fat. The carbohydrate component is primarily sugars, and is a source of
dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...
. In a portion, raw jackfruit provides , and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin B6 (25% DV). It contains moderate levels (10-19% DV) of vitamin C and potassium, with no significant content of other
micronutrient Micronutrients are nutrient, essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities throughout life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions to maintain health. Micronutrient requirements differ between organisms; for exam ...
s. The jackfruit is a partial solution for food security in developing countries.


Culinary uses

The flavor of the ripe fruit is comparable to a combination of apple, pineapple, mango, and banana. Varieties are distinguished according to characteristics of the fruit flesh. In Indochina, the two varieties are the "hard" version (crunchier, drier, and less sweet, but fleshier), and the "soft" version (softer, moister, and much sweeter, with a darker gold-color flesh than the hard variety). Unripe jackfruit has a mild flavor and meat-like texture and is used in curry dishes with spices in many cuisines. The skin of unripe jackfruit must be peeled first, then the remaining jackfruit flesh is chopped into edible portions and cooked before serving. The final chunks resemble prepared
artichoke heart The globe artichoke (''Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green articho ...
s in their mild taste, color, and flowery qualities. The cuisines of many Asian countries use cooked young jackfruit. In many cultures, jackfruit is boiled and used in curries as a staple food. The boiled young jackfruit is used in salads or as a vegetable in spicy curries and side dishes, and as fillings for cutlets and chops. It may be used by vegetarians as a substitute for meat such as pulled pork, though the protein content of the fruit is not significant. It may be cooked with coconut milk and eaten alone or with meat,
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
or smoked pork. In southern India, unripe jackfruit slices are deep-fried to make chips.


South Asia

In Bangladesh, the fruit is consumed on its own. The unripe fruit is used in curry, and the seed is often dried and preserved to be later used in curry. In India, two varieties of jackfruit predominate: ''muttomvarikka'' and ''sindoor''. ''Muttomvarikka'' has a slightly hard inner flesh when ripe, while the inner flesh of the ripe ''sindoor'' fruit is soft. A sweet preparation called ''
chakkavaratti Chakkavaratty, Chakka Varattiyathu, Chakka Varatti, Jackfruit Preserves or Jackfruit Halwa is a type of food made from jackfruit. The seeds are removed from the fruit and it is cut into small pieces. The fruit is then cooked with ghee and jaggery ...
'' (jackfruit jam) is made by seasoning pieces of ''muttomvarikka'' fruit flesh in
jaggery Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can ...
, which can be preserved and used for many months. The fruits are either eaten alone or as a side to rice. The juice is extracted and either drunk straight or as a side. The juice is sometimes condensed and eaten as candies. The seeds are either boiled or roasted and eaten with salt and hot chilies. They are also used to make spicy side dishes with rice. Jackfruit may be ground and made into a paste, then spread over a mat and allowed to dry in the sun to create a natural chewy candy. File:Baby jack fruit curry-Sri Lanka.jpg, Jackfruit curry (
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
) File:Green Jackfruit & Potato Curry - Kolkata 2011-02-11 1000.JPG, Green jackfruit and potato curry ( West Bengal) File:Baby Jackfruit masala.JPG, Jackfruit masala (India) File:Chakka-chips.JPG, Jackfruit fried in coconut oil from Kerala, India File:Jackfruit (Unripe) Cutlet.jpg, Jackfruit (unripe) cutlet, India


Southeast Asia

In Indonesia and Malaysia, jackfruit is called ''nangka''. The ripe fruit is usually sold separately and consumed on its own, or sliced and mixed with shaved ice as a sweet concoction dessert such as '' es campur'' and '' es teler''. The ripe fruit might be dried and fried as '' kripik nangka'', or jackfruit cracker. The seeds are boiled and consumed with salt, as they contain edible starchy content; this is called ''beton''. Young (unripe) jackfruit is made into curry called '' gulai nangka'' or stewed called '' gudeg''. In the Philippines, jackfruit is called ''langka'' in Filipino and ' in Cebuano. The unripe fruit is usually cooked in coconut milk and eaten with rice; this is called ''
ginataang langka ''Ginataang langka'', is a Filipino vegetable stew made from unripe jackfruit in coconut milk and spices. The dish includes a wide variety of secondary ingredients like seafood, meat, and other vegetables. The dish also commonly adds ''bagoong a ...
''. The ripe fruit is often an ingredient in local desserts such as '' halo-halo'' and the Filipino turon. The ripe fruit, besides also being eaten raw as it is, is also preserved by storing in syrup or by drying. The seeds are also boiled before being eaten. Thailand is a major producer of jackfruit, which are often cut, prepared, and canned in a sugary syrup (or frozen in bags or boxes without syrup) and exported overseas, frequently to North America and Europe. In Vietnam, jackfruit is used to make jackfruit '' chè'', a sweet dessert soup, similar to the Chinese derivative ''bubur cha cha''. The Vietnamese also use jackfruit purée as part of pastry fillings or as a topping on '' xôi ngọt'' (a sweet version of sticky rice portions). Jackfruits are found primarily in the eastern part of Taiwan. The fresh fruit can be eaten directly or preserved as dried fruit, candied fruit, or jam. It is also stir-fried or stewed with other vegetables and meat. File:Jackfruit chips.jpg, '' Kripik nangka'', jackfruit chips (Indonesia) File:Es Teller 77.jpg, '' Es teler'', shaved ice dessert with avocado and
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
(Indonesia) File:Gudeg full set.jpg, '' Gudeg'' (left), jackfruit curry with
palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar is sometimes qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed s ...
(Indonesia) File:Ginataang langka with shrimp and calamari.jpg, ''
Ginataang langka ''Ginataang langka'', is a Filipino vegetable stew made from unripe jackfruit in coconut milk and spices. The dish includes a wide variety of secondary ingredients like seafood, meat, and other vegetables. The dish also commonly adds ''bagoong a ...
'', jackfruit in
coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...
( Philippines) File:Halo halo1.jpg, '' Halo-halo'', shaved ice dessert with various fruits and toppings (Philippines)


Americas

In Brazil, three varieties are recognized: ''jaca-dura'', or the "hard" variety, which has a firm flesh, and the largest fruits that can weigh between 15 and 40 kg each; ''jaca-mole'', or the "soft" variety, which bears smaller fruits with a softer and sweeter flesh; and ''jaca-manteiga'', or the "butter" variety, which bears sweet fruits whose flesh has a consistency intermediate between the "hard" and "soft" varieties.


Africa

From a tree planted for its shade in gardens, it became an ingredient for local recipes using different fruit segments. The seeds are boiled in water or roasted to remove toxic substances, and then roasted for a variety of desserts. The flesh of the unripe jackfruit is used to make a savory salty dish with smoked pork. The jackfruit arils are used to make jams or fruits in syrup, and can also be eaten raw.


Wood and manufacturing

The golden yellow timber with good grain is used for building furniture and house construction in India. It is termite-resistant and is superior to teak for building furniture. The wood of the jackfruit tree is important in Sri Lanka and is exported to Europe. Jackfruit wood is widely used in the manufacture of furniture, doors and windows, in roof construction, and fish sauce barrels. The wood of the tree is used for the production of musical instruments. In Indonesia, hardwood from the trunk is carved out to form the barrels of drums used in the '' gamelan'', and in the Philippines, its soft wood is made into the body of the '' kutiyapi'', a type of boat
lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
. It is also used to make the body of the Indian string instrument '' veena'' and the drums ''
mridangam The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the ...
'', ''
thimila Timila, thimila or paani, (Malayalam:തിമില) is an hour-glass shaped percussion instrument used in Kerala, South India. It is made of polished ''jackwood'', and the drumheads made of calfskin (preferably taken from 1- to 2-year-old ...
'', and ''
kanjira The kanjira, khanjira, khanjiri or ganjira, a South Indian frame drum, is an instrument of the tambourine family. As a folk and bhajan instrument, it has been used in India for many centuries. The kanjira's emergence in South Indian Carnatic m ...
''.


Cultural significance

The jackfruit has played a significant role in Indian agriculture for centuries. Archaeological findings in India have revealed that jackfruit was cultivated in India 3000 to 6000 years ago. It has also been widely cultivated in Southeast Asia. The ornate wooden plank called ''avani palaka'', made of the wood of the jackfruit tree, is used as the priest's seat during Hindu ceremonies in Kerala. In Vietnam, jackfruit wood is prized for the making of Buddhist statues in temples The heartwood is used by Buddhist forest monastics in Southeast Asia as a dye, giving the robes of the monks in those traditions their distinctive light-brown color. Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh, and the state fruit of the Indian states of Kerala (which hosts jackfruit festivals) and Tamil Nadu.


Cultivation

In terms of taking care of the plant, minimal pruning is required; cutting off dead branches from the interior of the tree is only sometimes needed. In addition, twigs bearing fruit must be twisted or cut down to the trunk to induce growth for the next season. Branches should be pruned every three to four years to maintain productivity. Some trees carry too many mediocre fruits and these are usually removed to allow the others to develop better to maturity. Stingless bees such as ''
Tetragonula iridipennis The Indian stingless bee or dammar bee, ''Tetragonula iridipennis'', is a species of bee belonging to the family Apidae, subfamily Apinae. It was first described by Frederick Smith in 1854 who found the species in what is now the island of Sri ...
'' are jackfruit pollinators, and so play an important role in jackfruit cultivation. It seems to be the case that pollination results from a three-way mutualism involving the flower, a fungus, and a species of gall midge, ''Clinidiplosis ultracrepidata''. The fungus forms a film over the syncarps which is a food source to both the fly larvae and adults.


Production and marketing

In 2017, India produced 1.4 million tonnes of jackfruit, followed by Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia. The marketing of jackfruit involves three groups: producers, traders, and middlemen, including wholesalers and retailers. The marketing channels are rather complex. Large farms sell immature fruit to wholesalers, which helps cash flow and reduces risk, whereas medium-sized farms sell the fruit directly to local markets or retailers. File:Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) - photo of the inside.jpg, Packed jackfruit sold in a market File:Selling jackfruit in bangkok3.jpg, Selling jackfruit in Bangkok File:JackfruitNYC.jpg, Jackfruit at a fruit stand in Manhattan's Chinatown File:Artocarpus heterophyllus.jpg, Cut jackfruit File:Chakkappazham.jpg, Polythene-packaged cut jackfruit File:JackfruitArils&Seeds.jpg, Extracting the jackfruit arils and separating the seeds from the flesh


Commercial availability

Outside countries of origin, fresh jackfruit can be found at food markets throughout Southeast Asia. It is also extensively cultivated in the Brazilian coastal region, where it is sold in local markets. It is available canned in sugary syrup, or frozen, already prepared and cut. Jackfruit industries are established in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, where the fruit is processed into products such as flour, noodles, ''
papad A papad is an Indian deep fried dough of black gram bean flour, either fried or cooked with dry heat (flipped over an open flame) until crunchy. Other flours made from lentils, chickpeas, rice, tapioca, millet or potato are also used. ''Papad' ...
'', and ice cream. It is also canned and sold as a vegetable for export. Jackfruit is also widely available year-round, both canned and dried. Dried jackfruit chips are produced by various manufacturers. As reported in 2019, jackfruit became more widely available in US grocery stores, cleaned and ready to cook, as well as in premade dishes or prepared ingredients. It is on restaurant menus in preparations such as taco fillings and vegan versions of
pulled pork Pulled pork is an American barbecue dish, more specifically a dish of the Southern U.S., based on shredded barbecued pork shoulder. It is typically slow-smoked over wood (usually outdoors); indoor variations use a slow cooker. The meat is th ...
dishes.


Invasive species

In Brazil, the jackfruit can become an
invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
as in Brazil's
Tijuca Forest The Tijuca National Park () is an urban national park in the mountains of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The park is part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Preserve, and is administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservat ...
National Park in Rio de Janeiro or at the Horto Florestal in neighbouring
Niterói Niterói (, ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms ...
. The Tijuca is mostly an artificial
secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...
, whose planting began during the mid-nineteenth century; jackfruit trees have been a part of the park's flora since it was founded. The species has expanded excessively because its fruits, which naturally fall to the ground and open, are eagerly eaten by small mammals, such as the common marmoset and coati. The seeds are then dispersed by these animals, spreading jackfruit trees that compete for space with native tree species. The supply of jackfruit has allowed the marmoset and coati populations to expand. Since both prey opportunistically on bird eggs and nestlings, the increases in marmoset and coati populations are detrimental to local birds.


See also

* Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia *
Chempedak ''Artocarpus integer'', commonly known as chempedak or cempedak, is a species of tree in the family Moraceae in the same genus as breadfruit and jackfruit. It is native to Southeast Asia. Cempedak is an important crop in Malaysia and is also popu ...
, a closely related Southeast Asian fruit sometimes confused with jackfruit *
Durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...
, a fruit similar in appearance but from an unrelated tree, also from Southeast Asia


References


External links

* * * * {{Authority control Artocarpus Belizean cuisine Crops originating from India Flora of India (region) Flora of Sri Lanka Fruits originating in Asia Meat substitutes National symbols of Bangladesh Non-timber forest products South Asian cuisine Southeast Asian cuisine Tropical agriculture Tropical fruit