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Jackfruit, vegan meat substitute used for pulled pork, tacos, even fish patties, packs a nutritional punch

  • Versatile and nutritious, jackfruit is soaring in popularity thanks to its ability to mimic certain types of meat
  • ‘In seven to 10 years, jackfruit will be as popular as beef,’ says one vegan cafe owner.

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Jackfruit is full of nutrients including potassium, fibre and magnesium. Photo: Shutterstock

If you’ve never heard of jackfruit, keep your eyes open: you’ll start noticing it everywhere.

Jackfruit is a very large tropical fruit often used as a meat substitute. It packs some nutritional wallop, and the fact that you can cook, chunk or shred it like chicken or pork makes it a go-to main ingredient in many vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Jackfruit is native to India, and also grows in Southeast Asia, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. It ranges from 15lb (7kg) to a whopping 70lb (32kg).

For cooking, freshly picked, non-ripe jackfruit is generally used. Once ripe, jackfruit can be used in sweeter dessert preparations.

You wouldn’t miss anything – we could give you our [jackfruit] taco and you wouldn’t even know it’s vegan
Angela Means, owner, Jackfruit Café in Los Angeles

It is available whole or sliced into more manageable pieces. Unripe, it is green and unyielding; as it ripens, it softens, turns yellow, gets some brown spots and starts to smell fruity.

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