More Thai Fruit

I always found it inconvenient to eat a lot of fruit back home, you know, going to the grocery store, buying just the right amount of fruit so as not to have over-ripe stuff after a week, etc., but here in Thailand it is very simple.There are fruit stands pretty much on every street corner, along major thoroughfares, in markets, malls and grocery stores. Fruits are easily substituted for chips and chocolate here because of the ease of purchasing it as well as its preparation.When you grab a guava, for example, from a street vendor, he will slice and bag it for you and it's ready to eat as you walk or easily stored in your refrigerator or a lunch box to be eaten later.I personally think some of the shapes, textures and even sheer size of some of these fruits is interesting.The variety of fruits here is also pretty awesome. We get far more than the average U.S. fruit section at your local grocer...you know, apples, oranges, grapes, bananas.Our fruits here even come with cool nicknames like "The king of fruit" (durian shown above) or "The queen of fruit" (mangosteen pictured below).Right now mangosteens, dragon fruit, sala (spiky brown football looking fruit above), gnaw (furry looking red fruit in crates above) and custard apples (green fruit below often nicknamed Buddha Head fruit by farangs as it resembles the S.E. Asian depiction of Buddha's head) are in season and most fruit stands seem to always have durians (big spiky good-thing-Sir-Issac-Newton-wasn't-sitting-under-one-of-these-suckers fruit pictured above), mangoes and watermelon.These are some pictures from a roadside fruit seller we visited on our most recent trip away from town.

Went food shopping today...

I went to the nearby Foodland after school today, in the rain. I looked at the fruit...I photographed the fruit...I even took time to sniff the fruit oddly enough. I walked out of the grocery store with a bag full of hotdogs, hotdog buns and Listerine...I gotta work on this diet thing!!Ah, in season again, these lovely "nose-shaped" fruits are the rose apple. They have an interesting texture and when perfectly ripe, taste oh so yummy!Next we have the miracle fruit, the Mangkoot (mangosteen). Apparently it is full of antioxidants and people in the west (USA) pay 30 dollars for a bottle of its miracle juice! Hahahaha. I get the same bottle of 100% Mangkoot juice here for a little over a buck! It's not a miracle elixir, it's just expensive because they grow here, not there...and a lot of pyramid, multi-level dudes convincing people to pay 30 dollars for a bottle of fruit juice.What's next...ah yes! These furry little buggers are the "ngoh" or something like that! English? Uh, no idea truthfully! Easier than they look like to get into and eat, Juicy with a pit. Not my favorite but I can eat a couple now and then for fun. I just don't like when the cover of the pit comes off with the meat of the fruit, otherwise they are really tasty.Ah, these look like Dragon Fruit to me. These things grow at the end of scraggly cactus looking plants. Always wondered why people grew those cactus things...now I know, they give these nicely colored fruit. Meat inside is either white or purple...These look like the smaller purple ones to me.And finally one that I actually don't eat, probably ate two in three plus years here in Thailand. Called I believe the Longan. Similar inside to the flesh of a lychee, even ngoh. Don't let me scare you away from these though. If you ever have the chance, give 'em a try. You might love them.

Jackfruit Information and Facts

The jackfruit tree is native to countries such as India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka and maybe even East of Malay. It’s cultivated on Tropical conditions and the Jackfruit is believed to be the largest tree borne fruit in the world.

History of Jackfruit

The Scientific name of Jackfruit is Artocarpus heterophyllus and comes from the family of Mulberry family (Moraceae). Native to countries like Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia and Bangladesh it was known to have originated from the Western Ghats of India. It is the National Fruit of Bangladesh and Indonesia. The Jackfruit was introduced to Northern Brazil in the mid 19th Century. It has been a major part of Indian Agriculture for Centuries. It’s believed that the great king Asoka in India encouraged cultivation of the Jackfruit. History shows that cultivation of jackfruit goes back to as much as 5000 to 6000 years.

Jackfruit’s Benefits

There are many benefits of the Jackfruit tree. It’s a very nutritional and tasty fruit and even the seed of the fruit is edible and very high in nutritional value.
The tree yields strong wood when mature and valued for its durable termite proof timber which can be used to build furniture. The leaves are one of the favorite diets of goats in these tropical areas.

Medicinal value of Jackfruit

Jackfruit is very useful when it comes to lowering blood pressure due to its very high level in potassium. The root of the Jackfruit is known to have many curative benefits. Its extracts are used by many native medicine makers to cure fever and diarrhea, it’s also found to be beneficial for asthma patients, and used to treat many skin problems as well.

Nutritional value of Jackfruit

In Addition, the Fruit contains a high amount of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Sodium, and many more nutrients. It calorie content is very low and is used in diets for weight loss or even to gain weight. The Vitamin C in the Jackfruit helps to increase the body’s immunity system and keep gums healthy. It’s what keeps the cells in the body together. The nutrients in Jackfruit also stops cancer cells from developing within the body, keeps the blood pressure low, fights against ulcers and makes the skin look younger by slowing down the degeneration of cells in the body. There are many varieties of Jackfruit. The sweetest and best is considered as the Honey Jack.

Habit and Appearance of Jackfruit

The Jackfruit Tree is an enormous tree which is large and bushy found growing mainly in tropical areas which are seen to have Monsoon rains. The young branches contain sticky white latex which can be useful to make birdlime. The leaves of this tree are oval shaped and deep green and glossy and grow in clusters. Its unique male and female flowers are borne in separate flower heads and are mostly seen in February and March. The male flowers are on the new wood above the female flowers. You can tell the difference because the female flowers appear on short twigs from the trunk. Male Flowers has pollen and the female flower doesn’t and another distinctive feature of the female flower is that it begins to swell very soon.
The Jackfruit can become as large as 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter making it weigh more than 80 pounds. These fruits hang from branches and trunks and sometimes you will also be able to see fruits hanging from the roots of some older trees. These large round or oblong fruit has a rough skin and is usually covered with a thick layer of pointed studs. Due to its very sticky white latex found inside the fruit its best if you dip the knife in vegetable oil before cutting the fruit. Within the fruit are many carpels which are small yellow pulpy pockets with seeds. This yellow pulp can be consumed raw when ripe and cooked when it’s not. It’s very starchy and fibrous which provides energy and has an abundance of dietary fiber. The seeds are also considered to be very nutritious and is consumed cooked by making curries or even fried, or just by drying and soaked in honey. It’s used as a cuisine in most parts of Asia and is the most popular fruit after mango and banana.