Jackfruit- finally!!

Holy cannoli I FINALLY got a jackfruit! Now, you're probably wondering why in the world I am this excited about a fruit, and for that matter who in the world gets that excited about a fruit? I get it, but folks, this is not just another kind of apple or berry I'm talking about- this is a JACKFRUIT. Time to let you in on a little secret- I watch Food Network (insert sarcasm, please). A lot. More than a lot. Probably the bulk of my television time is spent on Food Network programming, but that's ok, right? At any rate, I've seen this fruit on numerous cooking shows, usually in competition shows on which the idea is to stump the contestants because who in the world really knows what the heck to do with a jackfruit? Well, we are going to find out.

A couple months ago The Chef and I were browsing the local mid-size supermarket looking for inspiration. We were feeling a bit in a food rut. Whenever that happens we like to meander around the store and looks at food items we have not yet cooked with or haven't for a long time, or something from our childhood- like La Choy chow mein in a can. Don't laugh- a lot of people in our generation have fond memories of our mothers making this for dinner with those brown crunchy noodles and Minute Rice. We usually start in the produce section because it's right by the front doors of this particular store. On this occasion there was a large display of tropical fruits- rambutans, carambola, cherimoya, and things like that. Different kinds of papayas and mangoes. Baby red bananas. Lots of fun things including......... this monstrously gigantic kinda prickly and HUGELY heavy jackfruit. I immediately wanted to take it home with me but with a $40 pricetag that wasn't going to happen today so I sulked around the store the rest of the time and bemoaned my poor luck- having finally found a jackfruit but a limited budget.

Fast forward to now and I pop into Whole Foods, more for snooping around than for shopping, as we don't normally go there unless I'm looking for an unusual grain or type of rice, and lo and behold, right there, in the produce section (again the first department I wandered through) was once again the object of my intense obsession- the jackfruit, but this time it was not a $40 million pound globe of fruit to feed 50, it was cut up and sold by the slice. Jackpot! Now that my wish has been fulfilled my grandson Nathan and I are going to play with this fun fruit and learn a little about it at the same time.

Jackfruit, top, and durian, bottom. Photo from Wiki.

The first thing we noticed about our slice of jackfruit was the smell. I guess I should say fragrance or aroma because this thing smelled beautiful. So fruity and floral like pineapple and tropical flowers. A lot of people confuse this fruit with it's terribly stinky lookalike, the durian, but this jackfruit smells like heaven. I also read about a very sticky sap and was warned to oil my hands and utensils to prevent the sap from getting all over, as it's very hard to remove. That must happen more when you're cutting open a whole jackfruit because while we did oil our hands, we didn't encounter any sticky sap and didn't re-oil after handwashing.

The skin of the jackfruit is pretty thick and tough, but I was able to cut through it with no difficulty at all. The core was very pronounced and easy to remove. The fruit itself looks like little pods and each one contains a seed. Nathan and I learned that the jackfruit is actually just a giant flower with the petals on the inside and the fruit bulbs are flower petals- kind of cool to think about. There is a big seed in each bulb, about as big as an olive. We also learned that the seeds are also edible. The seeds smell like chocolate and if you dry them you can grind them as use them like cocoa. You can also boil the seeds or roast them, and they taste like water chestnuts. 

The funky stuff around the bulbs is also edible. We learned that it can also be cooked and shredded to use like meat- like in a pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwich, and that many vegan and vegetarian people do use the jackfruit as a meat replacement. Just imagine, a tree that can maybe eliminate starvation. We read that each jackfruit tree, which is the largest of all fruit-bearing trees, is capable of producing 100 to 200 fruits per year, and that each fruit can weigh up to 80 pounds. That is a lot of food!

Looks like chicken!

Our bulbs and our seeds.

What else did we learn about jackfruit? Lots! We learned where the trees grow- mostly Asian countries and South America where it doesn't get cold. They originated in rainforests. They cannot survive winter like we have here in Iowa. If you live in Florida and are very lucky- you might be able to grow a jackfruit tree. They are the national fruit of Bangladesh. Like the fruits we are used to eating in our part of the world, the jackfruit relies on bees to pollinate and produce fruits. We did collect 13 seeds, most of them are whole seeds and a couple were "nicked" by the knife. Nathan and I are going to try and sprout them and see if we can grow a jackfruit tree just for fun. We know it won't survive outside but we can grow an avocado pit into a nice house plant, so why not try this? I figure we'd also try the nicked seeds in case it makes it easier to germinate like some of the tough seeds require.

Our fruit bulbs went into a zip top bag and in the freezer so the next day we could make smoothies with them. It was very sweet and definitely had the mango and banana flavors. The next time we try jackfruit we will probably get a couple slices or maybe canned jackfruit and try THIS RECIPE for BBQ Pulled Jackfruit from the More Vegan Blog. A little bit of research online and we found all kinds of different dishes to use it in, both sweet and savory. We had fun and learned a lot about this weird fruit you don't see in Iowa very often. I wonder what weird food we will find next?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 55: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Nathan's Bake Shop Special- Skillet Bread

My recent experiment with the pitta con sarde has reignited my passion for baking. In a big way too. Nothing too easy like cupcakes and pies- and believe me, I was tempted to go there- but breads. Yeasty soft and pillowy doughs and crusty crunchy crusts. Herby savory loaves, spicy cinnamony rolls of heaven, vanilla glazes and melted butters. Bread is such a homey and comforting food and usually the first casualty of carb-cutting when people change their eating habits. 

We made one for dinner and one to go home
with Nathan

Some people are lucky enough to share their passion for food with close friends and family, and I'm happy to say I am among them. I've always loved cooking with my family. My oldest daughter and I used to hit the farmers market, the corn stand and the grocery store and then spend the day freezing veggies and meatballs. Year after year my kids and I made holiday treats and cookies and later my dear friend and almost sister Jessica and I held holiday baking marathons. My friend Katie and I often have all day cooking events- with and without kids. Some of the most precious times in my life are times spent cooking with my grandson Nathan. Our unlikely tradition began with a pan of nachos and has grown into something really special. Whenever we have a weekend together we plan to make something fun and tasty. Recently Nathan came to spend the night with me. Life has been a little chaotic for this young man recently and he needed a break from the daily grind and spend some time with Gramma.

We always start our plans with "what are we going to cook?" We had some trouble deciding this time! It's the end of summer, not quite autumn, still warm out, not cool and breezy, too early for chili and stew. We had a tough time choosing and finally decided on fried chicken, but we knew early on we would be baking some homemade bread.

Living in the city I certainly have no problem locating beautiful breads. I don't have to do any baking, but where is the fun in that? Cooking, baking, and writing about it are hobbies to me just as much as knitting and painting and woodworking are hobbies to other people. I spend lots of hours reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows- always in a quest to learn new techniques, discover more flavors and interesting foods. Bread cookbooks have become my latest obsession and all that reading gives me ideas and inspiration and reason to play in the dough.

Like many people, for years I used a bread machine to make bread at home. I could grab a ready to go boxed mix or I could pull a book off the shelf and throw the ingredients into the machine and let it do all the work for me. Certainly this was a convenient way to have home baked bread but it didn't really challenge me or test my baking ability. I got a hot, fresh, but oddly square loaf. I was always yearning for something a little more handcrafted. When The Chef and I left the lake house and made the migration back to civilization, we left the bread machine behind as well.

Exact measurements are so important.

Cooking with Nathan is as much a learning experience for me as it is for him. He learned that the bread rises and become fluffy and filled with tiny air pockets because of that living thing in an envelope called yeast. I learned that the envelopes are really full of thousands and thousands of teeny tiny zombies that come back to life when you add warm water. Nathan learned about cast iron skillets, and why we oil them after using them and how they last for many many years. I learned that mixing bread dough by hand is actually way more fun than breaking out the Kitchenaid, especially when poofs of flour floof all over the counter and make you bust out laughing. 

We talked about different kind of pans, like loaf pans and muffin pans, and different kinds of bread, like banana bread and cinnamon bread and bread with strawberries and peanut butter mixed in the dough (Nathan's recipe) and why baking bread in a skillet is actually a pretty cool way to make bread.

Which brings me to this fantastic recipe. You might remember the Dutch oven bread recipe a while back- this one is a similar style, also baked in cast iron, but not in a covered Dutch oven. The dough in the Dutch oven bread is a no-knead bread, which is the easiest thing ever invented, and is so versatile. It looks like a sourdough loaf if you use white flour. Add some herbs and grated cheese and you get a savory loaf packed with flavor. Want a cinnamon bread? Mix up a small dish of cinnamon sugar and add the dough to the skillet in small amounts, sprinkling with cinnamon sugar mixture to make a swirled sweet loaf. 

Cast Iron Skillet Bread

4 cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups warm water
olive oil, for the skillet
topping of choice

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt and yeast. If you are adding any herbs or grated cheese to your bread, this is the time to get it in the dough. Whisk it in thoroughly. For dried herbs, use about 2 teaspoons, fresh herbs, up to 1/4 cup minced. Grated cheese, keep it at 1/4 cup for dry grated cheese like Parmesan or 1/2 cup for cheddars and similar cheeses.

Mix in the warm water til the dough forms.

It looks a little rough, but trust us, it turns out perfect.

Pour the water over the flour and mix in with a wooden spoon and mix it in well. The dough will look a little rough but that's ok. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest and rise in a draft free spot for an hour.

Brush your cast iron skillet (I use a 10 inch skillet) with a little olive oil.

Our bread dough didn't slash so we just left it and
sprinkled on some flaked sea salt.

Flour your hands and sprinkle a little flour over the dough in the bowl. Use your fingers to work the dough out of the bowl and place it into the skillet shaping into a round loaf. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise one more time for half an hour.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Uncover the dough and brush with a little additional olive oil or melted butter. Slash the top decoratively and sprinkle with seeds, bits of grain such as hemp seed or oatmeal. I like to sprinkle a little flaked sea salt on top too for extra crunch.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown. Remove the bread from the skillet and allow to cool on a rack. Slice and serve while still a little warm.

Baking bread like this is so easy and doesn't require all kinds of kneading and shaping and multiple rising and specialty pans. Just basic ingredients and that old cast iron skillet. It's not unthinkable to have freshly baked bread on the table for dinner, even on a weeknight, and where many bread recipes are an exact science, these easy recipes do allow some room for playing- with flavor and textures. This is also a great way to get kids interested in their food and learning to make some of the basics we take for granted from scratch. It's fun and better for all of us.

Disclaimer- this recipe is a close variation of numerous published recipes, none of which I own or claim to have written. This particular combination of ingredients works perfectly for me, and I have shared it with you.