13 Important Tips To Know When Cooking With Jackfruit

Five to 10 years ago, the odds of encountering someone in North America who ate jackfruit on the reg would be slim to none. The gigantic, bulbous fruit — native to India and Southeast Asia — was primarily contained to specialty food stores and the occasional restaurant menu. However, as interest in plant-based diets skyrockets, jackfruit is taking over the vegan world with its health benefits, versatility, eco-friendliness, and fantastic taste. Fresh, ripe jackfruit is still a little tricky to find in the United States, but canned jackfruit is readily available in most grocery stores these days.

Rich in protein, fiber, and important vitamins and minerals, jackfruit is prized for its ability to be cooked down and turned into something resembling pulled meat, making it a popular choice for those looking to reduce their meat intake but who still want to enjoy options similar to pulled pork, chicken, and beef. Although the taste definitely differs (most of the time, when jackfruit is acting as a meat substitute, canned jackfruit — which has an earthy, subtly sweet flavor — is used), it's a great textural experience, and marinades and seasonings really boost the flavor. 

All that said, cooking with jackfruit varies greatly from cooking with most other meat, fruit, and vegetables. We've put together a handy guide to help you through the process.

In nature, jackfruits are huge — the tree fruits can grow as long as two feet and may weigh up to 40 pounds! Inside the fruit is sectioned off into smaller pods (also referred to as bulbs), each of which plays home to a large seed. Because of a jackfruit's large size, each fruit may contain anywhere from 100 to 500 seeds. In some corners of the internet, people claim that jackfruit seeds are toxic and to be thrown away immediately, but this is a myth about jackfruit you shouldn't believe. While raw jackfruit seeds do have harmful anti-nutrients that can cause health issues, like lectins and trypsin inhibitors, cooked seeds are actually fine to eat.

In fact, jackfruit seeds are bursting with nutritional benefits. The large seeds are rich in protein (uncommon for a fruit), fiber, magnesium, and other vitamins and minerals — just 100 grams of jackfruit seed contains 10% of the recommended daily value of potassium and 15% of vitamin C. Jackfruit seeds may be boiled, roasted, baked, or however you prefer to prepare them. As long as significant heat is applied, the seeds are safe to consume.

Canned jackfruit comes in large chunks reminiscent of the bulbs found in the ripe fruit. Although it's not always easy to discern in the can, some of the chunks may contain tougher pieces, which are parts of the fruit's core. If you're cooking jackfruit down, the texture of the core pieces softens and becomes barely noticeable. But if you're eating canned jackfruit raw, it's good to trim the hard pieces of the core away from the softer part of the fruit to maintain a nice, soft, even texture.

The bits of the core will also make it a wee bit more difficult to get that attractive, pulled meat look out of the jackfruit because the core holds the soft pieces of fruit together. When the core is trimmed, jackfruit is easily shredded with a fork or even your fingers to achieve the look and feel of pulled pork or chicken.

There's a big difference between canned and fresh jackfruit. Ripe, fresh jackfruit has a sort of tropical flavor similar to pineapple or mango — in fact, Annie Ryu, CEO of The Jackfruit Company, told Parade magazine that, as legend has it, ripe jackfruit is supposedly the flavor that inspired Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum. On the flip side, canned jackfruit retains a slightly sweet flavor, but is not nearly as saccharine as its ripe counterpart. This is because jackfruit is usually canned when it's green and unripe, and its flavors are not quite fully developed.

This makes canned jackfruit a much better choice for savory recipes. Stick with canned jackfruit for BBQ sandwiches, "crab" cakes, stews, and pretty much anywhere else where jackfruit is being used in a savory way. What's more, pay attention to the way the jackfruit is canned — jackfruit canned in brine has a saline quality, but if the fruit is canned in syrup, its sweet flavor is amplified. You should be rinsing your canned jackfruit after opening anyway, but jackfruit canned in brine is the best choice for savory recipes.

Working with fresh jackfruit is quite an endeavor. Being the largest tree fruit in the world, there are a number of steps to take in order to break it down to the point where you have something to work with. One of the absolute best hacks for breaking down a jackfruit is oiling the blade of your knife and putting on kitchen gloves once the jackfruit is cut in half. The inside of a jackfruit is a sticky, gooey mess; and let's face it, if you're cutting open and dissecting a fresh jackfruit, you've got enough to deal with already.

The fruit's fibrous insides will cling to your knife and hands if you don't take the proper precautions. Use cooking oil, such as coconut or olive oil, to liberally coat the blade of your knife (take care not to grease the handle — you don't want to slip and cut yourself). Wearing gloves protects your hands from the fruit's sappy innards, and you can switch out the gloves as many times as you'd like during the process if it becomes too messy.

Jackfruit is native to India and Southeast Asia, as previously mentioned, but with its popularity booming, it can now be found all over the world. In the United States, you can get your hands on canned jackfruit in just about any supermarket nowadays. Fresh jackfruit is definitely tougher to track down, but it can be found in the wild if you know where to look. Jackfruit can be grown in the humid, tropical climates of Florida and Hawaii, so if you live in one of these states, you may get lucky enough to come across these giant tree fruits at a farmer's market or grocery store.

If you're in one of the other 48 states, you're not out of luck. Jackfruit is shipped around the nation. And while you're unlikely to come across it at Aldi or Costco, keep your eyes peeled in specialty and natural food stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts. If you're not seeing fresh jackfruit in your area and really want to try it, you can order it online — just be aware that you're probably going to pay an arm and a leg.

As mentioned, seeds from fresh jackfruit are perfectly safe to eat, as long as they're cooked first. The seeds are quite large, generally one to two inches in length, sort of like an avocado pit. Jackfruit seeds can be prepared in a number of ways, the two most popular being boiling or roasting. Boiling jackfruit is as simple as covering the seeds with water in a large pot. Allow the water to come to a boil, then let them sit in boiling water for about half an hour to soften. Once finished, the seeds' outer shell should be peeled before eating. Boiled jackfruit seeds have a deliciously soft and creamy inside.

To roast jackfruit seeds, first carefully remove the outer shell of each seed using a knife, coat them in salt and oil, and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes for creamier seeds or a little longer if you want a dryer consistency. The end result should be nutty, earthy, and slightly sweet.