#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  Breadfruit

## Maanaam

Where I grew up we had several breadfruit trees of a few different varieties. We ate them quite a bit and they were fairly versatile. My Dad even made a "wine" out of them.
Living in Thailand now, I have seen a few trees around and very occasionally I see breadfruit in the market, but it is cut up into 2cm cubes and is unripe. I wouldn't know what to do with it like that.

I have wondered why Thais don't utilise them more. If left to get very (over) ripe, they get quite sweet and sticky when cooked. Just ripe fruit are cooked as a staple.

Why are they not big on breadfruit?

If I could get a whole ripe fruit, I would show them what can be done.

I started this thread because the following article came up on my feed today...Breadfruit, the new superfood.

"Just one breadfruit, which weighs around 7lbs (3 kgs), provides the carbohydrate portion of a meal for a family of five.

The fruit can be ground into flour and used in sweet and savoury dishes, including pancakes and crisps.

It is rich in vitamins and minerals, as well as being a high source of *gluten-free carbohydrate* and protein.

The* protein in the fruit has a higher proportion of aminio acids than soy*."

"*more breadfruit are produced per hectare than rice, wheat and corn*"

Those are some very attractive points, especially the yield per hectare.

The benefits of Breadfruit, long time Poly super food! ? Coconet

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## Maanaam

Reading that again...the yield p/h is a bit deceptive if a 3kg fruit is consumed in one meal. 3kg of rice would feed a lot more people.
Nonetheless, it's a hardy tree and easy to grow. In Fiji they seem to pop up all over the place. No maintenance. It's a starch larder for life, growing in your back yard. And the different varieties which have different seasons means that they are available all year.

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## Neverna

I'm not sure if I've ever eaten any. I'll try to find some and give it a try. Can it be eaten raw or must it be cooked?



This blog has a recipe for them. Lots of sugar. 

http://www.bloggang.com/mainblog.php?id=baanbaitong&month=07-11-2012

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## Maanaam

Has to be cooked, as far as I know. Boiled, jacket on or off. Baked.
A favourite method was to throw it on a small fire, cover it in dry coconut leaves, which cook it all around. The burnt skin peels off easily, and the flesh is steamed.
Then make something like the recipe you posted, but with sugar caramalised and coconut cream added to go over the fruit as a sweet sauce.


The problem is, I have never seen a whole one in the market, and always under-ripe.

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## Maanaam

This is a white sap plant. The sap from the trunk that seeps out if the bark is cut is used as a chewing gum.
Thus, the fruit is a bit sticky to peel. This is why we always boiled it, cut into chunks skin on.

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## Dillinger

When you cook it you kill all the many  nutrients they contain. 

Im guessing they taste like shit uncooked if even Thais dont like it

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## Dead Metal

I have seen this growing around my wife's farm. She pointed it out as fruit to be eaten but I haven't seen anyone pick them and they are always green !

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## thaimeme

Slow roasted breadfruit is lovely - brings out the nutty tasting side to it.

Been wanting to acquire a couple of breadfruit saplings here for some time - just for personal use.

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## david44

On Puluwat in the Caroline Islands, in the context of sacred yitang lore, breadfruit (poi) is a figure of speech for knowledge. This lore is organized into five categories: war, magic, meetings, navigation, and breadfruit.[13]
According to an etiological Hawaiian myth, the breadfruit originated from the sacrifice of the war god Kū. After deciding to live secretly among mortals as a farmer, Kū married and had children. He and his family lived happily until a famine seized their island. When he could no longer bear to watch his children suffer, Kū told his wife that he could deliver them from starvation, but to do so he would have to leave them. Reluctantly she agreed, and at her word, Kū descended into the ground right where he had stood until only the top of his head was visible. His family waited around the spot he had last been, day and night, watering it with their tears until suddenly, a small green shoot appeared where Kū had stood. Quickly, the shoot grew into a tall and leafy tree that was laden with heavy breadfruits that Kū's family and neighbors gratefully ate, joyfully saved from starvation.[14]

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## Maanaam

Nice legend. Thanks for posting.
And it shows how important this tree is.

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## Maanaam

> When you cook it you kill all the many  nutrients they contain. 
> 
> Im guessing they taste like shit uncooked if even Thais dont like it


I think that's a bit of a myth. If you boil fruits and veges, some of the nutrients leach out. Not sure how much damage heat does....some veges are actually better for you cooked, eg tomatoes.

Yeah, I can't understand why the breadfruit is not a bigger food thing here, as in the Pacific...where taro and cassava grow much better than here too, so it's not as if the Pacificans are short of starchy staples. Low labour is a HUGE bonus. Once the tree is established, it feeds you for decades.

I recall getting breadfruit seedlings from Tahiti to ship to the West Indies was the agenda of Bligh's expedition...or was it an early Cook expedition?
Something like that.

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## thaimeme

Adding: the incredible and extensive multi-nutritional value of breadfruit. Most might be surprised.

btw, RJ - "poi" is a byproduct of [wet] taro, less breadfruit......if I deciphered your script correctly.

 :Smile:

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## Begbie

Nice looking trees for shade. I may check out availability at Kumtien market and report back.

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## Maanaam

Yes, good shade trees, and the leaves being large and stiff (ish) makes for easy clean up.
You just reminded me of a good fishing story....which I'l post in the Fishing in Fiji thread.....

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## Dillinger

> Nice looking trees for shade. I may check out availability at Kumtien market and report back.


Have a look for a couple of beekeeper suits while youre at it :Smile: 











> Breadfruit is monoecious with male and female flowers developing on the same tree at the end of branches. The male inflorescence typically appears first. It is club shaped, ranging from 10 cm to 45 cm long. The inflorescence consists of thousands of tiny, creamy yellow individual flowers attached to a spongy core. The inflorescence fades to dark brown with age. Pollen is shed 10 to 15 days after the emergence of the male inflorescence for a period of about four days. Honeybees are attracted to the abundant pollen produced by some varieties. Each female inflorescence consists of 1500–2000 reduced flowers attached to a spongy core. The flowers fuse together and develop into the fleshy, edible portion of the fruit.

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## crepitas

Wife buys em whole in our local market..I thought they were just baby jack fruit? Puts em in a sour curry of sorts..An orrible curry to my taste.  Will plant the seeds next time... love all trees.

  OP...Why not ask your vendor of cut up breadfruit for some whole ones?

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## Maanaam

> OP...Why not ask your vendor of cut up breadfruit for some whole ones?


 :Smile: , yeah. The problem is how infrequently I see it. The vendors thus far have been "very rural" people (to put it nicely) and are not frequent vendors at the market.

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## GracelessFawn

> Has to be cooked, as far as I know. Boiled, jacket on or off. Baked.
> A favourite method was to throw it on a small fire, cover it in dry coconut leaves, which cook it all around. The burnt skin peels off easily, and the flesh is steamed.
> Then make something like the recipe you posted, but with sugar caramalised and coconut cream added to go over the fruit as a sweet sauce.
> 
> 
> The problem is, I have never seen a whole one in the market, and always under-ripe.


Where I am at, they do not sell ripe bread fruit, but at least, they sell the entire fruit, and not the cut ones.  

I usually just peel off the outer layer, and boil it with coconut milk and a bit of sugar.  Yummy....

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## Begbie

Searched Kumtien Market and found a shop with two breadfruit trees for sale. Thought they'd be saplings but they were both about two meters tall with the huge leaves. Too big for the car. I'll go back tomorrow with the truck. 

Vendor said they need watered twice a day but only on the roots. 250baht a tree.

Photos later if they're still available.

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## Maanaam

> Searched Kumtien Market and found a shop with two breadfruit trees for sale. Thought they'd be saplings but they were both about two meters tall with the huge leaves. Too big for the car. I'll go back tomorrow with the truck. 
> 
> Vendor said they need watered twice a day but only on the roots. 250baht a tree.
> 
> Photos later if they're still available.


Excellent value @ 250!  Looking forward to the pics.

I wonder what varietal they are.

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## Begbie

1.8m tall, 250baht.

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## Maanaam

I think that's great value.
Last year I looked at one that was 3m, and it was 1000 baht, and not sought after in my opinion, since the tree itself is not popular....still sitting in the plant shop now.
I still would have bought it if I had land.

Congrats, Begbie. I don't think you will regret that 250 baht.

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## WarTorn87

Breadfruit? Now I must do some searching!

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## Begbie

Thought I'd bounce this with an update.

The plant from the market back in early November

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## Begbie

After planting the leaf bud opened but the plant went very inactive for about three months. Maybe root shock or the winter temperature.

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## Begbie

Within the last three weeks it's woken up, produced leaf buds and now has flowered.

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## Begbie

Update

This I believe is the male flower.




And this is the female flower which develops into a fruit.

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## thaimeme

> Update
> 
> This I believe is the male flower.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And this is the female flower which develops into a fruit.


 
Hmmm...

Coming along nicely, Begs.

Cheers!!

 :Smile:

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## Begbie

Loves the rain. Branches sprouting all over.

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## Maanaam

Great!. I'm not much of an horticulturalist but I wonder if it's a good thing to be fruiting so early? High potassium soil, perhaps. You may need to stake the tree as the fruit may weigh it down at this early stage of life.
Oh, I see you have  :Smile: .
I'm as excited as an expectant god-father  :Smile:

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## HuangLao

> Within the last three weeks it's woken up, produced leaf buds and now has flowered.


Begbie, where did you secure your breadfruit locally?
Difficult to maintain the first year or two?

I'm looking to plant a few for experimental novelty.

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## Maanaam

> I'm looking to plant a few for experimental novelty.


Do that HuangLao. As informed in the OP and comments this is a good staple food and shade tree.
You may have to wait a few years, although Begbie's tree is fruiting already, so maybe not such a long wait. It's definitely a long-term investment though. 
A couple of our trees were at least 30 m high, so your grandkids will benefit.

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## Begbie

> Begbie, where did you secure your breadfruit locally?
> Difficult to maintain the first year or two?
> 
> I'm looking to plant a few for experimental novelty.


I'm in Chiang Mai and bought the tree at Kumthian Markrt, which is the main garden market in town. I had to ask a few shops before I found it. I suspect there isn't much demand.

The tree has been going crazy over the last month with all this rain. Getting very bushy with lots of branches. We had one fruit but unfortunately it fell off and wasn't spotted for a few days so started to rot.

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## HuangLao

> Originally Posted by HuangLao
> 
> I'm looking to plant a few for experimental novelty.
> 
> 
> Do that HuangLao. As informed in the OP and comments this is a good staple food and shade tree.
> You may have to wait a few years, although Begbie's tree is fruiting already, so maybe not such a long wait. It's definitely a long-term investment though. 
> A couple of our trees were at least 30 m high, so your grandkids will benefit.


Yeah, they are slow growers, yet hearty once established. And propagate naturally.

Little is known about the nutritional benefits of breadfruit.
Could easily fit into today's fashion of so-called "super foods".

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## cando

Thai call it Sakeh, ton sakeh is the the tree.

There are loads of different ones on the world, maybe the one grown in thailand isn't so nice?

I have a similar fruit from Indonesia, artocarpus sericicarpus aka pedalai. Is in the same family and the tree looks the same.

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## Begbie

> Begbie, where did you secure your breadfruit locally?
> Difficult to maintain the first year or two?
> 
> I'm looking to plant a few for experimental novelty.


So HL how are the breadfruit that you planted doing?

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## HuangLao

> Thai call it Sakeh, ton sakeh is the the tree.
> 
> There are loads of different ones on the world, maybe the one grown in thailand isn't so nice?
> 
> I have a similar fruit from Indonesia, artocarpus sericicarpus aka pedalai. Is in the same family and the tree looks the same.



Yeah, the variety of breadfruit that does well here is of the Indo-Malay type, whereas the broader Pacific variety are not as easy to propagate on the SE Asian Mainland.

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## HuangLao

> So HL how are the breadfruit that you planted doing?


Still looking to make the first plunge.

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## Maanaam

> So HL how are the breadfruit that you planted doing?


I have been thinking to revive this thread with a question about how yours is doing.
If you want some recipes, just ask.

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## Begbie

No fruit in the last six months. The tree is fine though, very bushy.

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## cando

Well i don't know anything about breadfruit but if you go to the parkingdeck of Central Chaengwattana in BKK you'll see a huge one in the garden of the house nextdoor.

Also in my area i know some tree's and i've seen them in Hua Hin above the swimmingpools, also the Mandarin hotel in Pakchong has a huge one above the terrace. I wonder what they do if it has fruit and all guests are have breakfast underneath.

I guess it's worth to order all seeds you can get (on the tropicalfruitforum.com) and see which one grows here.

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## Begbie

Taken in about a month ago.

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