Breadfruit: The Caribbean Potato!

No, breadfruit does not grow underground like a potato, but it can be prepared in all the ways you can with a potato. Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family. It is a tall (up 85ft in height), a leathery-leaved tropical tree that bears prickly, yellow-green, football-sized fruits. Breadfruit trees are one of the highest-yielding food plants known. It grows rapidly, producing fruit within three to four years; and it is relatively maintenance-free. A single tree can produce between 50 to 150 fruits per tree and their round, oval or oblong fruits can weigh as much as 12 pounds! It is a light green color when maturing and a light yellowish green when mature.

It is believed that the breadfruit was domesticated by descendants originating from New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines and further spread to other tropical regions such as the Caribbean during the Colonial Era.

But how exactly did the breadfruit get to the Caribbean?

According to National Geographic, “Europeans first discovered it in 1769 when Captain Cook arrived in Tahiti, where he and his crew of scientists were tasked with observing the transit of Venus. Along for the ride was botanist Joseph Banks, who zeroed in on breadfruit as a potential source of cheap and nutritious food for slaves on the sugar plantations of the British West Indies. Banks pitched the idea to King George III, who authorized Bligh to spearhead the breadfruit-gathering expedition.”

Today, breadfruit is known as a superfood.

What makes the breadfruit so special?

The fruit is an extremely versatile fruit and can be prepared and eaten in all stages of development and maturity, ripe as a fruit or mature as a vegetable. Most dishes are prepared with mature fruit due to the breadfruits’ potato-like texture. Breadfruits are gluten-free and very nutritious. Mature unripe breadfruit is heavy in starch, with a carbohydrate content equivalent to that of potatoes, corn, and rice; and they are a good source of fiber, antioxidants, minerals (including potassium, phosphorus, and calcium), and vitamins. As the breadfruit ripens its starches convert to sugars and the fruit softens to a custard-like consistency. This sweet custard can be eaten raw. Most importantly, breadfruit thrives in the tropics such as the Caribbean and Latin American that is currently facing a hunger crisis.

How is breadfruit prepared?

Apart from being eaten raw as a sweet custard when ripe, breadfruit is like a tropical potato. It can be steamed, boiled, baked, fried, or roasted. It tastes amazing mashed and seasoned, or as seasoned chips. Caribbean islanders are known to roast slight ripened breadfruit whole in a wood fire on beach or river gatherings. The fruit would blacken on the exterior which would be cut away to reveal the tasty soft interior that would be eaten with grilled fish or brown stew chicken or pork. A homage to the traditional way the plantation slaves would cook the breadfruit. Apart from roasting the breadfruit whole in an open flame, the breadfruit is cut into segments with the skin and center intact, washed and boiled, or steamed until tender like a perfectly cooked potato. The skin and center are then cut away and the fruit is ready to eat as a lunch or dinner side dish.

With much global and cultural influence over the years, the Caribbean people have adopted a variety of ways to use breadfruit in dishes such as casseroles, fritters, curries, stews, salads, and many other dishes. It can also be mashed and made into dips, like hummus, or vegetarian burgers.

You can find the fruit at grocery stores and supermarkets featuring Caribbean or Pacific Asian foods. They are always sold mature, feel them, they should be very firm unless they are ripe. Jirie Caribbean would never leave you out of this delicious treat. We have included an easy and very unique recipe starring the breadfruit and some of our superior, Caribbean spice blends.

Once your try Caribbean breadfruit, you might not go back to eating potatoes again!