How to Eat Jackfruit

Finding Jackfruits

Search for jackfruit in local grocery stores. Before you can prepare and eat a jackfruit, you’ll need to find a store that sells it. Jackfruit is uncommon in most American supermarkets; you probably won’t be able to find it at your local Safeway, Kroger, or Publix. Start by looking in the produce section of stores that sell organic, healthy foods. You may also be able to find canned or dried jackfruit in the “International” section of a local supermarket. For example, Whole Foods (and similar supermarkets) may sell jackfruit. Continue your search for jackfruit in local farmers markets.

Look in Asian grocery stores. These businesses often sell Asian ingredients that cannot be found in other supermarkets, and will very likely sell jackfruit. If there are multiple Asian grocery stores or markets in your area, look for one that specializes in Chinese and Southeastern Asian cuisines, as these will be most likely to stock jackfruit. To find an Asian grocery in your area, search online or ask around at local grocery stores and Asian restaurants.

Order jackfruit online. Although this should not be your first means of obtaining jackfruit—especially if you’re looking to purchase fresh jackfruit—online retailers may sell jackfruit in various forms. Online stores that specialize in selling food, such as YPFarms and JirosGarden, may deliver better products than other retail giants. Before purchasing jackfruit, read the website to determine the retailer’s return policy, in case the fruit arrives spoiled or damaged. For example, Amazon sells jackfruit in their “Grocery and Gourmet” section in various forms: dried, canned, or as a whole, fresh fruit. Their fresh Jackfruits are delivered with 2-day shipping.

Preparing Jackfruit

Cut into a raw jackfruit. If you’d like to prepare a raw jackfruit for yourself—whether for the experience or for the fruit—you’ll need to go about it in a specific way. Take a sharp chef’s knife and cut the jackfruit in half. You’ll see a large, white central stem: cut this into small pieces and remove it.

Turn the jackfruit inside out. To do this, you’ll need to have a firm grasp on the outside of the jackfruit half. Clearly visible segments of fruit will stand out (it’ll look a little like pulled pork); grab a segment and pull it out from the jackfruit body. Tear this fruit segment open, and extract the seed. Repeat this process until you’ve extracted all of the seeds from both halves of the jackfruit. Jackfruit produces a very sticky sap that will cling to your hands, clothes, knife, and cutting board, and make the process of cutting the fruit difficult. To avoid this, slather your hands and knife in vegetable oil, which will diffuse the sticky sap.

Boil or roast the jackfruit. Jackfruit are flavorful and taste approximately like a mixture between a banana and a pineapple, with mango-like hints of flavor as well. The edible part of jackfruit is actually the fleshy pod that protects the seed. Both fleshy pods and seeds are edible. In some parts of Asia, the seed is a delicacy although it has no flavor on its own. It has a consistency of a boiled potato or boiled taro after boiling for 10–15 minutes (until soft), and then eat them directly. For a firmer texture, roast your seeds in the oven at 400°F (204°C) for 20 minutes. Jackfruit are difficult to peel properly; the exterior is prickly and thick, and once you cut through it, you’ll find that the interior is gummy, sticky, and difficult to cut apart (as described above). When people refer to jackfruit as a fruit, they mean the deliciously fragrant fleshy pod that protects the seed. But when they refer to jackfruit as vegetable, they mean the young jackfruit that commonly sold in tins or cans that has a consistency of pulled pork, and used as vegan meat substitute. For this reason, it’s easier to purchase already prepared and canned jackfruit from a grocery store or an Asian market, rather than cutting through an entire fruit on your own. In Southeast Asian cultures, jackfruit as vegetable is commonly cooked in curry or stir fries. They cook the entire fruit after cutting the prickly outer skin.

Pre-cook by boiling young jackfruit for 30 mnts up to 40 mnts. Once they are soft enough, they can be sautéed or cooked as vegan meat substitute.

Roast the jackfruit seeds in a cast-iron pan. In Southeast Asian cultures, jackfruit seeds are often cooked on a charcoal grill and eaten while still hot. This gives the fruit a delicious smoky flavor. If you’d like to approximate this method of cooking but don’t have your own charcoal grill, you can roast the seeds in a cast-iron pan. The heat from the pan will cook the seeds consistently through. Bake the jackfruit seeds at 400°F (204°C). Use your oven light to check the seeds every 5 minutes. You’ll know they are done when the jackfruit seeds break open and the fleshy fruit “pops” out from the inside.

Including Jackfruit in Dishes

Use jackfruit to make a spicy salad. If you’re looking to mix jackfruit in with other healthy greens, you can include canned jackfruit in a spicy salad with red chilies, scallions, and other spices. Purchase a can of green jackfruit in water, and cook the contents on “low” in a crockpot for 4–5 hours to soften the flesh. Once the jackfruit is cooked, you can break it apart easily using a fork or a spoon.

Sautée the vegetables for the spicy salad. Use vegetable oil or butter to sauté 3–4 red chilies, 5–6 cloves of garlic, and the white tops of your scallions, and sautée for about 5 minutes. Add the jackfruit and 1/8 cup (30 mL) of fish sauce, and sautée for 2 more minutes. Dice two shallots and cook these in a pan of vegetable oil for 2–3 minutes. Strain the shallots, let them cool, and then toss the fried shallots with the prepared jackfruit mixture. Add ¼ cup (59 mL) of fresh mint and ¼ cup (59 mL) of fresh cilantro, and serve immediately.

Treat the jackfruit like pork and eat it in a sandwich. Jackfruit is a common vegan pork substitute, as its texture when cooked and “pulled” is similar to the texture of pulled pork. To make a jackfruit “pork” sandwich, purchase 3 20-ounce cans of jackfruit; remove the jackfruit seeds and cut the fruit pieces into bite-size chunks. Sautée ½ of an onion and 3 cloves of garlic together, and then add the jackfruit, along with 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoons (7.4 mL) of liquid smoke. Avoid purchasing jackfruit canned in syrup, as the taste will be too sweet and overwhelm the other flavors in the sandwich.

Add spices to the sautéing mixture. Continue to sautée the jackfruit, onion, and garlic mixture as you stir in several spices, including cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, and paprika. Add 1 cup of vegetable broth and simmer the mixture for 10–15 minutes, until the jackfruit has absorbed all of the liquid. Set the oven to 400°F (204°C), and spread the jackfruit “pork” mixture on a baking tray. Press the jackfruit with a spatula until it takes the consistency of pulled pork. Add ½ cup (118 mL) of BBQ sauce, and cook for 30–35 minutes. Once the jackfruit is lightly browned, remove the pan from the oven and spoon the jackfruit “pork” mixture onto a roll or bun. Serve once it has cooled.

Prepare jackfruit as a fish substitute in a “tuna salad” sandwich. Purchase a can of jackfruit packed in water, and use a fork to pull the flesh of the fruit apart. After pouring out the jackfruit water, sautée the jackfruit in butter or vegetable oil. As the jackfruit cooks, add to the pan ½ cup (118 mL) of onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic.

Add beans and other ingredients to the jackfruit. While the jackfruit mixture is cooking, in a bowl mash 1 cup of cooked great white northern beans and then add lemon juice, Dijon mustard, pickle relish, ¼ cup of mayonnaise, and ½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) of dried tarragon. Once it’s finished sautéing, add the jackfruit mixture, and mix everything together. Spoon the jackfruit “tuna” salad atop a bread of your choice, and add a handful of shredded cheese and a couple slices of tomato.