Breadfruit

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)

Originating in the South Pacific, the breadfruit is so ingrained in the Caribbean traditional diets it is hard to believe it is not indigenous to this area.

Breadfruit is a delicious and often nutritionally superior substitute for any starchy vegetable. This versatile fruit is consumed in different ways in 4 different stages of maturity! When purchasing breadfruit tell the vendor what you want to do with it so they can give you the breadfruit that suits your needs.

Mature, but still firm, the breadfruits are used like a vegetable typically boiled or stewed while the more mature but not yet soft breadfruits  are excellent for steaming; baking and roasting.

Breadfruit is nutritionally much superior to white flour or white rice, containing complex carbohydrates, fibre, 2 carotenoids (lutein + zeaxanthin), Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, folate, C, E, K plus calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and traces of copper, manganese and selenium. On top of all this breadfruit contains 9 amino acids!

Commercially; breadfruit is frozen, dehydrated, canned and processed into flour, starch, and chips. Breadfruit was traditionally preserved by drying or fermenting in a long involved process using sea water. 

Breadfruit flour is gluten free and can substitute for a portion of wheat or other flours used in making porridge, bread, crackers and other baked goods. Breadfruit flour is much richer than wheat flour in lysine and other essential amino acids.

Ripe mature fruits become soft and sweet, and are used like a fruit in beverages (such as juice, shakes and smoothies), breads, cakes, candy, cookies, flan, fruit leather, pies and puddings. 

Small, immature fruits can be boiled, pickled or marinated, and have a flavor similar to that of artichoke hearts.

Breadfruit leaves (very young) are said to be good sources of Vitamin C, iron, and calcium.

In Jamaica fallen male flower spikes are boiled, peeled and eaten as vegetables or are candied.

The breadfruit tree leaves, flowers, sap, latex, root and bark were an important part of the native pharmacopoeia in many different tropical islands.

Wood is used for canoes, construction materials, drums and surfboards, bark for cloth, the leaves provide shade and make great disposable food platters and the milky sap is used as glue. Dried male flowers were burned to repel mosquitoes.

The breadfruit tree’s beneficial impact on the natural environment of Dominica and the health of the people could contribute towards a more sustainable future!

– by Trudy Scott Prevost; rainbowyoga@yahoo.com.