Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) – food from the Bounty

It is said that Lieutenant William Bligh of HMS Bounty discovered breadfruit trees in Malaysia and Polynesia towards the end of the 18th century. He felt that it might be a good source of cheap food for the slaves, collected samples and introduced them in other tropical areas.


For thousands of years the Polynesians were using preserved breadfruit as food during their long sailings. They used planks of the tree for boatbuilding and the latex from the tree for caulking boats.


Breadfruit is a staple food in many tropical areas. The tree can grow up to 20m height. It is a prolific producer yielding about 200 fruits per season. The fruit can be boiled, baked, curried, sautéed or made into paste.


But I like them best as thinly cut and fried chips.


The first two photos below are from Olavipe (Copyright reserved). The other two are public domain pictures from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the images to enlarge.










Also see:

Tamanu oil for skin restoration and regeneration and scar removal.

6 comments:

Ashvin said...

I still keep getting mixed up between idichakka and kadachakka. Either way, both are relished !

Sharat Sunder Rajeev said...

dear sir, i have read your comment in murali sir's blog.I am happy to know that you were interested in the details about my ancestors.
youcan find more interesting stories about them in my blog.

Anonymous said...

Kadachakka, is also good when you make 'beef peralan' with chopped kadachakka instead of potatoes.
One of my favourite!

Unknown said...

ashvin, idichakka is tender jackfruit mashed up and cooked. Yes, both are good.

Unknown said...

sharat sunder rajeev, thank you. I have been busy during the last week and could not visit your blog. Shall do that soon and get back to you.

Unknown said...

kariyachan, thank you for the hint.