Jackfruit galore!

After traveling around and seeing local markets, I thought I've seen all the varieties of exotic vegetables and fruit that the sub-Asian climate had to offer. Jackfruit caught me completely off guard, it's everywhere. On the streets, you can find shops filled floor to ceiling with jackfruit. I find it hard to believe that people can eat sooooo much jackfruit, you would think that something that weighs anywhere from 30-80 pounds with spikes couldn't possibly be edible. And how is it picked anyways? One of them will fill an entire fruit basket. I'm guessing you don't wait for it to fall on the ground, I'd hate to be the one catching it under the jackfruit tree.

Jackfruit truck-



Yes, believe it or not, these spiked fruit are edible. Although I have to admit, I've been in Bangladesh for 2 months eating in a lot of local places, and I've only eaten it once. It wasn't too bad, just fleshy and slightly fragant.

So I'm thinking that people must be doing something else with these jackfruit. I mean look at the size of them! What do they do, export them to Florida and advertise them to the AARP as the alternative to prunes? Load them onto a catapault and aim for India?


Actually, I found out that chips, chewing gum, pudding, jam, and curry all can be made from jackfruit. Hmm... maybe I've eaten more of it than I thought.

"Show me your best jackfruit!" Jackfruit-wallahs posing with their favorite fruit.