Thread: Breadfruit

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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 !

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.

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

Originally Posted by 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

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.

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.

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

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.....

Originally Posted by Begbie

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

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.

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?

Originally Posted by crepitas

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

, 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.

Originally Posted by 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.

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....

Originally Posted by 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.

Excellent value @ 250! Looking forward to the pics.

I wonder what varietal they are.

1.8m tall, 250baht.

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.

Breadfruit? Now I must do some searching!

Thought I'd bounce this with an update.

The plant from the market back in early November

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