Jackfruit

Jackfruit

Etymology

The word "jackfruit" comes from Portuguese jaca, which in turn, is derived from the Malayalam language term, chakka (Malayalam chakka pazham : ചക്കപ്പഴം). When the Portuguese arrived in India at Kozhikode (Calicut) on the Malabar Coast (Kerala) in 1498, the Malayalam name chakka was recorded by Hendrik van Rheede (1678–1703) in the Hortus Malabaricus, vol. iii in Latin. Henry Yule translated the book in Jordanus Catalani's (f. 1321–1330) Mirabilia descripta: the wonders of the East.

The common English name "jackfruit" was used by the physician and naturalist Garcia de Orta in his 1563 book Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India. Centuries later, botanist Ralph Randles Stewart suggested it was named after William Jack (1795–1822), a Scottish botanist who worked for the East India Company in Bengal, Sumatra, and Malaysia.

Cultivation and ecology

The jackfruit has played a significant role in Indian agriculture for centuries. Archeological findings in India have revealed that jackfruit was cultivated in India 3000 to 6000 years ago. It is also widely cultivated in southeast Asia.

Thailand and Vietnam are major producers of jackfruit, which are often cut, prepared, and canned in a sugary syrup (or frozen in bags/boxes without syrup), and exported overseas, frequently to North America and Europe.

In other areas, the jackfruit is considered an invasive species as in Brazil's Tijuca Forest National Park in Rio de Janeiro. The Tijuca is mostly an artificial secondary forest, whose planting began during the mid-19th century, and jackfruit trees have been a part of the park's flora since its founding. Recently, the species has expanded excessively; its fruits, which naturally fall to the ground and open, are eagerly eaten by small mammals such as the common marmoset and coati. The seeds are dispersed by these animals, which allows the jackfruit to compete for space with native tree species. Additionally, as the marmoset and coati also prey opportunistically on bird's eggs and nestlings, the supply of jackfruit as a ready source of food has allowed them to expand their populations, to the detriment of the local bird populations. Between 2002 and 2007, 55,662 jackfruit saplings were destroyed in the Tijuca Forest area in a deliberate culling effort by the park's management.

Fruit

The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous and is a source of dietary fiber. The flavor is comparable to a combination of apple, pineapple, mango, and banana. Varieties are distinguished according to characteristics of the fruit's flesh. In Brazil, three varieties are recognized: jaca-dura, or the "hard" variety, which has a firm flesh and the largest fruits that can weigh between 15 and 40 kg each, jaca-mole, or the "soft" variety, which bears smaller fruits with a softer and sweeter flesh, and jaca-manteiga, or the "butter" variety, which bears sweet fruits whose flesh has a consistency intermediate between the "hard" and "soft" varieties.In Indochina, the two varieties are the "hard" version (more crunchy, drier and less sweet but fleshier), and the "soft" version (more soft, moister, much sweeter with a darker gold-color flesh than the hard variety).

Nutrition

The edible jackfruit is made of easily digestible flesh (bulbs); a 100-g portion of edible raw jackfruit provides about 95 calories and is a good source of the antioxidant vitamin C, providing about 13.7 mg. Jackfruit seeds are rich in protein. The fruit is also rich in vitamin B6, potassium, calcium, and iron.

Seeds

In general, the seeds are gathered from the ripe fruit, sun-dried, then stored for use in rainy season in many parts of South Indian states. They are extracted from fully matured fruits and washed in water to remove the slimy part. Seeds should be stored immediately in closed polythene bags for one or two days to prevent them from drying out. Germination is improved by soaking seeds in clean water for 24 hours. During transplanting, sow seeds in line, 30 cm apart, in a nursery bed filled with 70% soil mixed with 30% organic matter. The seedbed should be shaded partially from direct sunlight to protect emerging seedlings.