Added: May 27, 2011

From: NickVenture1

Duration: 3:41

Jackfruit trees are frequently encountered in Sri Lanka.Often bearing large fruit. The jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus or A. heterophylla,is a species of tree in the mulberry family (Moraceae), which is native to parts of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh, (locally called Kathal). Jackfruit is also found in East Africa e.g. in Uganda and Mauritius, as well as throughout Brazil.It is well suited to tropical lowlands. Its fruit is the second largest tree-born fruit, nearly as large and heavy in some varieties, as the largest and heaviest coco de mer (more rare). Globally common, fruit,reach 80 pounds (36 kg) in weight and up to 36 inches (90 cm) long and 20 inches (50 cm) in diameter.The name "Jack fruit" is derived from the Portuguese Jaca, which in turn, is derived from the Malayalam language term, Chakka.The fruit is popularly known as Kathal or kata-hal in Bengali and in Hindi. The Portuguese first arrived in India at Kozhikode (Calicut) on the Malabar Coast (Kerala) in 1498. The Malayalam name Chakka was recorded by Hendrik van Rheede (1678--1703) in the Hortus Malabaricus, vol. iii in Latin. Henry Yule translated the book in Jordanus Catalani's (1678--1703) Mirabilia Descripta: The Wonders of the East.The fruit is called a variety of names around the world, such as "Mít" in Vietnamese. The common English name jackfruit is a name used by the physician and naturalist Garcia de Orta in his 1563 book Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India.A botanist, Ralph Randles Stewart suggests that it was named after William Jack (1795--1822), a Scottish botanist who worked for the East India Company in Bengal, Sumatra and Malaysia.[9] This is unlikely, as the fruit was called a "Jack" in English before William Jack was born: for instance, in Dampier's 1699 book, A new voyage round the world.The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy, fibrous and is a source of dietary fiber. The flavour is similar to a tart banana. Varieties of jackfruit are distinguished according to the characteristics of the fruits' flesh. In Brazil, three varieties are recognized. These are: jaca-dura, or "hard" variety, which has firm flesh and the largest fruits that can weigh between 15 and 40 kilograms each; jaca-mole, or "soft" variety, which bears smaller fruits, with softer and sweeter flesh; and jaca-manteiga, or "butter" variety, which bears sweet fruits, whose flesh has a consistency intermediate between the "hard" and "soft" varieties.In Kerala, mainly two varieties of Jackfruit are found: Varikka and Kuzha. Varikka has slightly hard flesh for the inner fruit when it becomes ripened. Kuzha fruit has very soft, almost dissolving type flesh for the inner fruit on ripening. A sweet preparation called Chakka Varattiyathu is made by seasoning the Varikka fruit flesh pieces in jaggery, which can be preserved and used for many months. Huge jackfruits up to 4 feet length with matching girth are sometimes seen in Kerala. In Mangalore, Karnataka they are called Bakke and Imba varieties. The pulp of the Imba jackruit is ground and is made into a paste. Then it spread over a mat is allowed to dry in the sun. A natural jackfruit chewy candy.The young fruit is called Polos in Sri Lanka, and 'Idichakka" in Kerala. It is a dish with spices to replace meat curries in Sri Lankan cuisine. The skin of unripe (young) jack fruit must be pared first and discarded and then the whole fruit can be chopped into edible portions and cooked to be eaten. The raw young fruit is not edible.Young jackfruit has a mild flavour and distinctive texture. The cuisines of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam use cooked young jackfruit.[15] In Indonesia, young jackfruit is eaten as gudeg. In many cultures, jackfruit is boiled and used in curries as a staple food.The wood of the tree is used for the production of musical instruments. In Indonesia it forms part of the gamelan and in the Philippines, its soft wood is made into the hull of a kutiyapi, a type of Philippine boat lute. It is also used to make the body of the Indian string instrument Veena and the drums Mridangam and Kanjira, the Golden yellow coloured timber with good grains is used for building furniture and house construction in India. The ornated wooden plank called Avani Palaka made of the wood of Jackfruit tree is used as the priest's seat during Hindu ceremonies in Kerala.Jackfruit wood is widely used in the manufacture of furniture, doors and windows, and in roof construction.The heartwood of the jackfruit tree is used by Buddhist forest monastics in Southeast Asia as a dye, giving the robes of the monks in those traditions their distinctive light brown color. (wikipedia)

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