What kind of weird fruit is this? I didn’t expect that the core can be eaten!

It is the heaviest fruit in the world.

Although it looks ugly, it has a fragrant smell.

People often accidentally throw away the delicious parts.

It is jackfruit, a fruit that many friends love to eat. It has a strong aroma and tastes sweet. For those who love jackfruit, they will enjoy this delicious taste even if the price is expensive.

So, why is jackfruit so fragrant? What are the most nutritious properties of it? Who should be careful about eating it? This article will explain it to you.

01

What kind of strange fruit is jackfruit?

Jackfruit is a tropical fruit, also known as jackfruit, native to southern India. my country has introduced jackfruit for more than a thousand years. It is mainly grown in southern my country, such as Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, Yunnan, etc. Hainan is the largest jackfruit production area in my country. The fruit is divided into "dry pack" and "wet pack", the former has a crisp taste, and the latter has a soft and glutinous taste.

The first characteristic of jackfruit is that it is big.

The jackfruit tree is between 2 and 3 meters tall, and the fruit is huge - in fact, jackfruit is the heaviest fruit in the world, weighing up to 59 kilograms, almost equivalent to the weight of an adult.

We all know the story of Newton’s genius idea coming from an apple falling from a tree (although it’s made up…), but what if Newton was hit by a jackfruit…

In real life, there have indeed been accidents where people were hit by jackfruits. The victim fainted on the spot and was sent to the hospital ICU for treatment. After waking up, he found out that fortunately the culprit was just a 10-pound "underage" jackfruit. If it was a mature jackfruit, the consequences would be disastrous.

The second characteristic of jackfruit is stickiness.

Jackfruit is not only heavy in weight, it also has a hard and rough shell, and there is sticky liquid after opening the shell, which increases the difficulty of handling the jackfruit. Food video bloggers often challenge themselves to tear jackfruit by hand, and they often have ferocious expressions and messy tables. This is probably why it is cheaper to buy a whole jackfruit, but expensive to buy a jackfruit that has been torn apart.

Tuchong Creative

This sticky slime that sticks to both hands and knives is actually a weapon that the jackfruit uses to protect itself. It is mainly composed of polysaccharides and has a sticky texture. The lower the temperature, the stickier it becomes.[1] You can soak it in hot water to clean it, or use plastic gloves or a plastic bag to scrape off the slime while cleaning it. Experienced people will also brush a layer of oil on the knife to separate the slime, and then wash the knife with oil afterwards to avoid ruining the knife while cutting a jackfruit.

No wonder some netizens commented:

If you love someone, give him a box of jackfruit.

If you hate someone, give him a jackfruit.

02

Is jackfruit related to durian and pineapple?

When seeing the name "jackfruit", some people will think of pineapple, and believe that the two should have some "complicated" relationship.

In fact, the two are not related at all, except that they are a bit similar in name. Jackfruit came to China during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and pineapple came from the American continent after it. It was originally called pineapple. It is said that because it looks like the jackfruit produced in southwest my country, it was named pineapple later.

In addition, some people think that jackfruit and durian are vaguely related because they are both so big and ugly, and are often sold together.

In fact, the two are not closely related, except that they look similar. Durian is from the Malvaceae family (some sources say it is the Kapok family), while jackfruit is from the Moraceae family. [2] Durian is a single fruit, while jackfruit is an aggregate fruit, which contains many small independent fruits when opened.

▲Chinese Plant Intelligence

03

Why is jackfruit so fragrant? What nutrients does it have?

Many people like jackfruit because of its attractive aroma. A study analyzed the aroma components of four different genotypes of jackfruit and identified a total of 66 aroma components, of which 16 substances such as ethyl butyrate, isobutyl butyrate, isopentyl butanol, methyl butyrate, and butyl acetate were the main aroma components of jackfruit. [3]

Unfortunately, Xiaoxiao is not interested in jackfruit... | Photo provided by the author

Jackfruit is not only delicious, but also nutritious! Its most prominent nutrients are rich in mineral potassium, polysaccharides, and carotene.

① The potassium content of jackfruit is 330 mg/100 g, which is 1.3 times the potassium content of the bananas we often eat. It is relatively friendly for those who need to control blood pressure.

② Jackfruit is rich in polysaccharides. In vitro studies have shown that jackfruit polysaccharides have strong antioxidant effects, can scavenge free radicals, and reduce the risk of disease. Animal experiments have also shown that jackfruit polysaccharides can improve immunity and induce the secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). [4]

③ Jackfruit is rich in carotene, which is the coloring substance of the jackfruit flesh. The red flesh contains more carotene than the yellow flesh, which is good for eye health. Therefore, compared with the yellow flesh, the red flesh variety of jackfruit has a greater market advantage in terms of nutritional value, appearance quality, and flavor and taste. [5]

04

Don’t throw away the jackfruit seeds, you can eat them!

Although a jackfruit is quite large, in fact, 1/3 of its volume is the core, that is, the seed part of the jackfruit. Many people will throw away the core directly when eating jackfruit, which is a pity!

▲Figure: Reference 4

The core of jackfruit is not only edible, but also a treasured part of the jackfruit, and is very nutritious! From the data, we can see that the core of jackfruit is not only high in protein and low in fat, but also rich in dietary fiber, which can enhance satiety, prevent constipation, and is beneficial to intestinal health. [6]

Others have measured the mineral content of jackfruit seeds and found that they are rich in potassium. Compared with Xishuangbanna jackfruit seeds, Hainan jackfruit seeds have a higher potassium content. [7]

In addition, some studies have found that jackfruit seeds also contain the functional factor gamma-aminobutyric acid, with a content of up to 413.76 mg/100 g. This ingredient has the functions of improving memory and relieving fatigue. [6] There are also many health products related to gamma-aminobutyric acid on the market, which are mainly promoted to relieve stress and promote sleep.

Therefore, don't throw away the core when you eat jackfruit in the future. You can boil it in salt water and eat it directly. It tastes soft and sticky, a bit like chestnuts. You can also cook it with rice. Jackfruit core is rich in lysine, up to more than 1%, while grains lack lysine. Eating the two together can form nutritional complementarity and improve the absorption and utilization rate of protein. For this article, the author personally challenged the jackfruit core rice. Except that the shell is a bit difficult to remove, it really tastes like chestnuts. It is worth a try.

Jackfruit core rice | Photo provided by the author

05

These 3 types of people should be careful when eating jackfruit

Although jackfruit is nutritious and delicious, there are three types of people who should be cautious and not be greedy!

a) Obese people: Jackfruit has high calories and carbohydrate content, both of which are nearly twice that of apples. 100 grams of jackfruit (about 5 pieces without the core) has 105 kcal, which is almost equivalent to a small bowl of cooked rice. If you eat too much, you will definitely gain weight.

Weighing jackfruit | Photo provided by the author

b) People with diabetes: The postprandial blood sugar GI value of jackfruit is 75[8], which is a high GI food and is not friendly to people who need to control blood sugar. If you really like to eat it, it is recommended to replace part of the staple food with it during the main meal, and eat it with vegetables and protein foods to delay postprandial blood sugar.

c) People with high uric acid: Jackfruit contains high fructose. Excessive fructose intake will increase uric acid levels and induce gout.

Summarize:

Although jackfruit is delicious, it is high in calories and sugar. If you want to be healthy and not gain weight, you must control your intake and don’t overeat!

Author | Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered dietitian, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Editor | Ding Zong

This article is produced by the "Science Rumor Refutation Platform" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.

The pictures in this article are from the copyright gallery and are not authorized for reproduction.

References:

[1] Ma Zhiyuan, Zhu Kexue, Wu Guiping, Zhang Yanjun, Tan Lehe, Wu Gang, Xu Fei. Study on rheological properties of jackfruit polysaccharide[J]. Science and Technology of Food Industry, 2021, 42(23): 81-86. DOI: 10.13386/j.issn1002-0306.2021030007.

[2] iPlant Plant Intelligence - Plant Species Information System

[3] He Shuzhen, Wu Gang, Zhang Yanjun, Xu Fei, Zhu Kexue, Tan Lehe. Analysis of volatile aroma components of different genotypes of jackfruit germplasm resources[J]. Journal of Tropical Crops, 2019, 40(07): 1304-1311.

[4] Zhang Yanjun, Wang Shaoman, Zuo Huiyu, et al. Main functional active ingredients of jackfruit and their research progress[J]. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2019, 37(6): 16-22. DOI: 10. 3969/j. issn. 2095-6002. 2019. 06. 003.

[5] Cen Yi, Cheng Jun, Ding Yuanhao, Wu Gang, Wu Baoduo, Fan Rui, Tan Lehe, Hu Lisong. Analysis of flavonoids in different colored jackfruit flesh[J]. Journal of Tropical Crops, 2021, 42(11): 3301-3306.

[6] Shi Jiang, Cao Haiyan, Guo Fen. Nutritional composition analysis and safety evaluation of jackfruit seeds[J]. Food Research and Development, 2018, 39(14): 193-196.

[7] Yuan Haihua, Zhong Huijie, Ao Xinyu. Determination and analysis of nutritional components of jackfruit seeds[J]. Food Research and Development, 2018, 39(24): 169-173.

[8] Hettiaratchi UP, Ekanayake S, Welihinda J. Nutritional assessment of a jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) meal. Ceylon Med J. 2011 Jun;56(2):54-8. doi: 10.4038/cmj.v56i2.3109. PMID: 21789865.