Breadfruit and Eggplant?

[Theogirl]

I was at the produce market this morning and went a little loco with the new produce! i bought some lovely long skinny eggplants, and a breadfruit and a breadNUT fruit. Any suggestions on eating these raw?

[Theogirl]

Maybe someone from Hawaii or similar climate has some experience with these. Starfire? Pretty please?:p

[spicyfull]

Monstera Deliciosa
From the split-leaf philodendron! It grows out of the flower. Also called Mexican Breadfruit or Swiss Cheese Plant.
Norman Van Aken explains: "You owe it to yourself to experience Monsteras."

Native to Central America and widely eaten in the tropics, they taste like a tropical fruit, a mix of mango, pineapple, and banana.

They look like a mix of a corn (in shape and in the fruit kernels) and a (bumpy) cucumber with hexagon tiles on the skin.

Ripen: The skin and the tiles (must) fall of by themselves indicating it is ripe to eat. This will take some time, so be patient. Keep it out on your counter at room temperature until all the tiles come loose or put it in a brown bag for a few days and check on it. It ripens as the skin fall off; the bottom will ripen first (it ripens unevenly) so take it off in sections and be sure to remove all the tiles from that section. The black specs in the fruit are part of the flavor, no need to discard those. Norman Van Aken continues, "You take a small sharp knife and cut into the fruit and scrape off the kernels into a bowl." Unripe will cause irritation to the throat and mouth because of the oxalic acid (as, you can imagine, they don't taste good unripe either) so be patient. Once ripe, you will be rewarded with a unique, custard texture, pale yellow color, and tropical flavor of the Monstera Deliciosa.

Use: Used to flavor drinks and ice cream or can be eaten as a fresh fruit once ripened.



Nutritionally: High in potassium and Vitamin C


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[FloridaPatty]

It is a staple in some parts of the world in the tropics. This is from Wilipedia:

Breadfruit is a staple food in many tropical regions. They were propagated far outside their native range by Polynesian voyagers who transported root cuttings and air-layered plants over long ocean distances. They are very rich in starch, and before being eaten they are roasted, baked, fried, or boiled. When cooked the taste is described as potato-like, or similar to fresh baked bread (hence the name).
The fruit of the breadfruit tree - whole, sliced lengthwise and in cross-section
The fruit of the breadfruit tree - whole, sliced lengthwise and in cross-section

Because breadfruit trees usually produce large crops at certain times of the year, preservation is an issue. One traditional preservation technique is to bury peeled and washed fruits in a leaf-lined pit where they ferment over several weeks and produce a sour, sticky paste. So stored, the product may last a year or more, and some pits are reported to have produced edible contents more than 30 years later.[citation needed] Fermented breadfruit mash goes by many names such as mahr, ma, masi, furo, and bwiru, among others.
Drawing of breadfruit by Sydney Parkinson
Drawing of breadfruit by Sydney Parkinson

Most breadfruit varieties also produce a small number of fruits throughout the year, so fresh breadfruit is always available, but somewhat rare, when not in season.

Breadfruit can be eaten once cooked, or can be further processed into a variety of other foods. A common product is a mixture of cooked or fermented breadfruit mash mixed with coconut milk and baked in banana leaves. Whole fruits can be cooked in an open fire, then cored and filled with other foods such as coconut milk, sugar and butter, cooked meats, or other fruits. The filled fruit can be further cooked so that the flavor of the filling permeates the flesh of the breadfruit.

The Hawaiian staple food called poi made of mashed taro root is easily substituted or augmented with mashed breadfruit. The resulting “breadfruit poi” is called poi ‘ulu.

Breadfruit contains 25% carbohydrates (110kcal/100g). It has small amounts of minerals (potassium and zinc) and vitamins B1 (100μg) and C (20mg/100g).

Breadfruit was widely and diversely used among Pacific Islanders. Its wood is resistant to termites and marine worms, and consequently it was used as timber for structures and canoes.[1] Its wood pulp can also be used to make paper, called breadfruit tapa.[2] It is also used in traditional medicine to treat illnesses that range from sore eyes to sciatica.[3]