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Jack of all fruits goes global as preferred meat alternative in West
Green, spiky and with a strong, sweet smell, the bulky jackfruit has morphed from a backyard nuisance in the country’s south coast into the meat-substitute darling of vegans and vegetarians in the West.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
Part of South Asia’s diet for centuries, jackfruit was so abundant that tonnes of it went to waste every year.
But now India, the world’s biggest producer of jackfruit, is capitalising on its growing popularity as a “superfood” meat alternative -- touted by chefs from San Francisco to London and Delhi for its pork-like texture when unripe.
“There are a lot of enquiries from abroad... At the international level, the interest in jackfruit has grown manifold,” Varghese Tharakkan says from his orchard in Kerala’s Thrissur district.The fruit, which weighs five kilogrammes (11 pounds) on average, has a waxy yellow flesh when ripe and is eaten fresh, or used to make cakes, juices, ice creams and crisps.
When unripe, it is added to curries or fried, minced and sauted. In the West, shredded jackfruit has become a popular alternative to pulled pork and is even used as a pizza topping.
“People love it,” Anu Bhambri, who owns a chain of restaurants in the US and India, explains.
“The jackfruit tacos have been a hit at each and every location. The jackfruit cutlet -- every table orders it, it’s one of my favourites!”
James Joseph quit his job as a director at Microsoft after spotting Western interest in jackfruit “gaining momentum as a vegan alternative to meat”.
The COVID-19 crisis, Joseph says, has created two spikes in consumer interest. “Coronavirus caused a fear for chicken and people switched to tender jackfruit.
Wayanad’s giant jackfruit eyeing entry into Guinness book
A massive jackfruit, weighing over 52 kg and 117 cm long, is eyeing to enter the Guinness record book. The fruit was found in a private plantation at Kappattumula in nearby Mananthavady and is likely to replace the existing Guinness record of the heaviest jackfruit globally. Another giant jackfruit, weighing 51.500 kg, from Kollam, is also vying for the record books. As on date, the world’s heaviest jackfruit according to the Guinness came from India, the fruit weighed 42.72 kg and was 57.15-cm long with a circumference of 132.08 cm. The 52-kg ripe fruit attracted the attention of residents who plucked it carefully and informed the panchayat officials.
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