Delicious breadfruit curry … yummy!
The Breadfruit
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia, South India and most Pacific Ocean islands. It is also grown in the Leeward Islands and Windward Islands of the Caribbean and in Africa. Its name is derived from the texture of the cooked moderately ripe fruit, which has a potato-like flavor, similar to freshly baked bread.
Ancestors of the Polynesians found the trees growing in the northwest New Guinea area around 3,500 years ago. They gave up the rice cultivation they had brought with them from Taiwan, and raised breadfruit wherever they went in the Pacific (except Easter Island and New Zealand, which are too cold). Their ancient eastern Indonesian cousins spread the plant west and north through insular and coastal Southeast Asia. It has, in historical times, also been widely planted in tropical regions elsewhere.
The late-18th-century quest for cheap, high-energy food sources for British slaves prompted colonial administrators and plantation owners to call for the introduction of this plant to the Caribbean.
Breadfruit to end poverty?!
It may not be a fruit that you automatically reach for in the supermarket with its lumpy/prickle-like green skin (depending on the variety) but this soccer-ball sized exotic fruit is being touted as a wonder food.
The fruit can be ground into flour and used in sweet and savoury dishes, including pancakes and crisps. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, as well as being a high source of gluten-free carbohydrate, fiber and protein. The protein in the fruit has a higher proportion of amino acids than soy.
Hawaii’s National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) has been studying the plant since the 1980s and formed the Breadfruit Institute which has suggested that this fruit may be the key to end world hunger. Growing on one of the earth’s highest-yielding trees, it requires little care and thrives in the tropics. Now experts are investigating which varieties best suit certain environments and climates – as well as local tastes – in countries lacking food security.
The Trees That Feed Foundation, for example, is planting more breadfruit trees in Haiti, where they hope to feed at least 1,000 orphans every day. Traditionally in Polynesia, a breadfruit tree would be planted when a child was born, believing that this would guarantee food throughout that child’s life.
A million ways to eat breadfruit!
There are many ways to cook breadfruit. In Dominica, it is mostly eaten boiled as a staple side instead of rice, substituted for potato in a salad, or with salted-fish stew. It is a popular dish during the island’s independence celebrations (September to November) since this is the time of year it bears the most. It is usually roasted over an open fire to give it a delicious smoky taste that goes well with a savoury meat or fish. It is also tasty fried as French fries or chips lightly salted.
In countries such as Sri Lanka, it is either cooked as a curry using coconut milk and spices (which becomes a side dish) or consumed after boiling. Boiled breadfruit is a famous main meal and is often consumed with scraped coconut, or “sambal” made out of coconut and chilies. Fritters of breadfruit are also a local delicacy of coastal Karnataka.
In Seychelles, it was traditionally eaten as a substitute for rice, as an accompaniment to the mains. It would either be consumed boiled (friyapen bwi) or grilled (friyapen griye). It is also eaten as a dessert, called ladob friyapen, where it is boiled in coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
In Puerto Rico, it is traditionally eaten boiled with bacalao (salted codfish). It is also used to make rellenos de pana (mashed breadfruit filled with seasoned meat), mofongo, tostones de pana (double fried breadfruit), and even lasagna de pana (cooked mashed breadfruit layered with meat and topped with cheese). There is also a popular dessert made with sweet ripe breadfruit:flan de pana (breadfruit custard).
In Barbados, breadfruit is boiled with salted meat and mashed with butter to make breadfruit coucou. It is usually eaten with saucy meat dishes.
Bet you did not know this!
Here are a few surprising and mostly unknown uses of breadfruit:
Leaves: Breadfruit leaves are eagerly eaten by domestic livestock. In India, they are fed to cattle and goats; in Guam, to cattle, horses and pigs. Horses are apt to eat the bark of young trees as well, so new plantings must be protected from them.
Latex: Breadfruit latex has been used in the past as birdlime on the tips of posts to catch birds. The early Hawaiians plucked the feathers for their ceremonial cloaks, then removed the gummy substance from the birds’ feet with oil from the candlenut, or with sugarcane juice, and released them. After boiling with coconut oil, the latex serves for caulking boats and, mixed with colored earth, is used as paint for boats.
Wood: The wood is yellowish or yellow-gray with dark markings or orange speckles; light in weight; not very hard but strong, elastic and termite resistant (except for drywood termites) and is used for construction and furniture. In Samoa, it is the standard material for house-posts and for the rounded roof-ends of native houses. The wood of the Samoan variety ‘Aveloloa’ which has deeply cut leaves, is most preferred for house-building, but that of ‘Puou’, an ancient variety, is also utilized. In Guam and Puerto Rico the wood is used for interior partitions. Because of its lightness, the wood is in demand for surfboards. Traditional Hawaiian drums are made from sections of breadfruit trunks 2 ft (60 cm) long and 1 ft (30 cm) in width, and these are played with the palms of the hands during Hula dances. After seasoning by burying in mud, the wood is valued for making household articles. These are rough-sanded by coral and lava, but the final smoothing is accomplished with the dried stipules of the breadfruit tree itself.
Fiber: Fiber from the bark is difficult to extract but highly durable. Malaysians fashioned it into clothing. Material for tape cloth is obtained from the inner bark of young trees and branches. In the Philippines, it is made into harnesses for water buffalo.
Medicinal Uses: In Trinidad and the Bahamas, a decoction of the breadfruit leaf is believed to lower blood pressure, and is also said to relieve asthma. Crushed leaves are applied on the tongue as a treatment for thrush. The leaf juice is employed as ear-drops. Ashes of burned leaves are used on skin infections. A powder of roasted leaves is employed as a remedy for enlarged spleen. The crushed fruit is poulticed on tumors to “ripen” them. Toasted flowers are rubbed on the gums around an aching tooth. The latex is used on skin diseases and is bandaged on the spine to relieve sciatica. Diluted latex is taken internally to overcome diarrhea.
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