Thai Foodcast

The jackfruit is the single largest fruit in the world that comes off a tree. They can weigh up to 80 pounds and be three feet in length. The outside of the fruit is greenish yellow, and it has a thick leathery spiky skin. The sap inside is as sticky as glue, and it takes some work to get the fruit out.. The fruit itself looks like large corn kernels and is fibrous and sweet.

In Thailand most families have a jackfruit tree in their backyard, the reason is that the name of the fruit in Thai is "ka-noon". "Noon" means "support" in Thai. So by having this tree behind you, you have support behind your family.

Practically what this means is that there are millions of these trees producing these incredibly large fruits and they are commonly found everywhere in the kingdom. The fruit inside is delicious, and I think best served a bit chilled.

Jackfruit are unable to be grown outside of the tropics, but every once and a while you can find them in an asian food store. If you see one, grab it. It's a taste experience you won't soon forget.

Tips for finding a good one:

1.The smell. Take a deep whiff, the ripe jack fruit has a strong pungent odor. If you can't smell anything it's not ripe yet.
2.The color. A ripe jackfruit is greenish yellow in color.
3.The feel. A ripe jackfruit is a little bit soft, but not squishy.

Finding and buying a jackfruit is much like a dog chasing a car. So now that you've been lucky enough to score one of the largest fruits in the world, What happens now that you got one?

Take a look at the video below, Aunchalee teaches you how to open and serve a jackfruit.