Experiencing jackfruit is up there with one of the weirdest things I’ve done, but I’m glad I did. I first saw them at Randazzo’s Fruit and Vegetable Market on an ordinary shopping trip. Very odd looking fruit, like a prickly watermelon. They sell them whole or quartered.
Some interesting things at Randazzo’s – things I’ve never heard of. Then later that week, a friend of mine mentioned that a family member from out of town had brought some jackfruit, and I shared with her the photos of it that I had just recently taken with my phone.
Recently I mustered up the courage to buy a piece and try it. The fruit itself honestly looks like something out of Little Shop of Horrors, and it’s freakier when you cut it open.
I had to google what to do as I was clueless. So apparently, you cut it open and pull out the yellow fleshy “petals” inside the fruit. The large seed inside can also be eaten, but I haven’t tried that yet, I guess you boil them. I set out cutting it in slices like a watermelon and then gutting it with a fork and knife.
It’s actually pretty tasty – it has a banana/pineapple flavor very similar to Juicy Fruit gum. Kind of slimy, but no slimier than canned peaches. Because the jackfruit quarters or halves are pretty decent size, you get a good amount of fruit when you’re done. Being that my husband only eats basically bananas and apples, I had a ton of fruit to use up. I gave some away and then thought of my dehydrator.
Hehehehe..
Turns out to be my FAVORITE way to eat this stuff. I sliced the petals into strips and laid them out on the trays of my dehydrator.
Really only took overnight to dry, I like them chewy. The result was dried fruit with a texture of licorice, but Juicy Fruit flavored. I was in heaven.
Our annual bike trip out west is on the horizon and we always pack beef jerky and dried apple slices. I’ll be drying lots of jackfruit over the next month! The hard part will be saving it until we leave.
The only downside is that you only really use about half the fruit – a good amount of it is the rind and the internal sections that you don’t eat – you only use the yellow petals and maybe the seeds. A quarter jackfruit cost me about $11.00 at $1.59 per pound. I chalk it up to the Girl Scout Cookie theory – it’s seasonal! And better for you than Twizzlers. Treat yourself!
So, let me know if you try it! Would love to hear what you think.