Jackfruit could save millions from starvation • Hacker News Board

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#21

Post by solutionyogi » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:07 PM UTC

vivin wrote: post #11

Not popular in India? News to me. Maybe not all over India. But in Kerala, the state I am from, Jackfruit is pretty popular there and is used to make a wide variety of dishes. My grandparents house has many jackfruit trees and we always had jackfruit to eat. It tastes nothing like pulled pork to me though. It's mainly sweet and very slightly tangy/sour. Fresh jackfruit has a kind of "crunch" to it. I can't really des…

I am originally from Gujarat (a western state) and jackfruit is definitely not as popular as it is in South. There are no dishes in Gujarat which are made using jackfruit. I know this because I grew up in Surat (a city in Gujarat) but worked in Mangalore for 2.5 years. I personally love jack fruit especially fried jackfruit chips! Luckily, Indian Grocery stores in NYC carry those jackfruit chips. Completely agree that it's impossible to describe the taste, you just have to try it.

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#22

Post by chriskanan » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:07 PM UTC

vivin wrote: post #11

Not popular in India? News to me. Maybe not all over India. But in Kerala, the state I am from, Jackfruit is pretty popular there and is used to make a wide variety of dishes. My grandparents house has many jackfruit trees and we always had jackfruit to eat. It tastes nothing like pulled pork to me though. It's mainly sweet and very slightly tangy/sour. Fresh jackfruit has a kind of "crunch" to it. I can't really des…

The pulled pork reference is referring to unripe jack fruit, which has a very meaty mouthfeel. It is not sweet and has a different taste. I tried some in a Nepalese restaurant in Madison, WI, and it was very good: http://www.yelp.com/biz/himal-chuli-madison http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/himal-chuli-madison?select=vh...

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#23

Post by dennyabraham » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:11 PM UTC

vivin wrote: post #11

Not popular in India? News to me. Maybe not all over India. But in Kerala, the state I am from, Jackfruit is pretty popular there and is used to make a wide variety of dishes. My grandparents house has many jackfruit trees and we always had jackfruit to eat. It tastes nothing like pulled pork to me though. It's mainly sweet and very slightly tangy/sour. Fresh jackfruit has a kind of "crunch" to it. I can't really des…

It's supposed to resemble pulled pork before it's ripened. I've never seen it personally, however, since I've only been able to find fresh jackfruit in the midwest in the last few years.

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#24

Post by chimeracoder » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:11 PM UTC

vivin wrote: post #11

Not popular in India? News to me. Maybe not all over India. But in Kerala, the state I am from, Jackfruit is pretty popular there and is used to make a wide variety of dishes. My grandparents house has many jackfruit trees and we always had jackfruit to eat. It tastes nothing like pulled pork to me though. It's mainly sweet and very slightly tangy/sour. Fresh jackfruit has a kind of "crunch" to it. I can't really des…

> Not popular in India? News to me.

No kidding. Jackfruit is everywhere in Bengali cuisine[0]! It's really popular with vegetarians and people on vrat, because it has a tougher texture (like meat) with certain preparations.

I don't know what pulled pork tastes like, but I dislike even the smell of pork, whereas jackfruit is delicious. So I'm skeptical of that comparison as well.

[0] West Bengal, too, not just East Bengali

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#25

Post by shas3 » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:12 PM UTC

chriskanan wrote: post #22

vivin wrote: post #11

Not popular in India? News to me. Maybe not all over India. But in Kerala, the state I am from, Jackfruit is pretty popular there and is used to make a wide variety of dishes. My grandparents house has many jackfruit trees and we always had jackfruit to eat. It tastes nothing like pulled pork to me though. It's mainly sweet and very slightly tangy/sour. Fresh jackfruit has a kind of "crunch" to it. I can't really des…

The pulled pork reference is referring to unripe jack fruit, which has a very meaty mouthfeel. It is not sweet and has a different taste. I tried some in a Nepalese restaurant in Madison, WI, and it was very good: http://www.yelp.com/biz/himal-chuli-madison http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/himal-chuli-madison?select=vh...

Unripe jackfruit is totally like pork in texture - pulled or cubed. Only, as is typical of plant-based food, it is not as juicy. You can use it in all the ways that you can use pork - stews, jambalayas, with rice - except in a sandwich. I'm pretty sure jackfruit is too dry for sandwiches. Though, if it lends itself to pickling like cabbage, that may be a good way to incorporate it into a sandwich.

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#26

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:13 PM UTC

dennyabraham wrote: post #23

vivin wrote: post #11

Not popular in India? News to me. Maybe not all over India. But in Kerala, the state I am from, Jackfruit is pretty popular there and is used to make a wide variety of dishes. My grandparents house has many jackfruit trees and we always had jackfruit to eat. It tastes nothing like pulled pork to me though. It's mainly sweet and very slightly tangy/sour. Fresh jackfruit has a kind of "crunch" to it. I can't really des…

It's supposed to resemble pulled pork before it's ripened. I've never seen it personally, however, since I've only been able to find fresh jackfruit in the midwest in the last few years.

[deleted]

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#27

Post by solutionyogi » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:14 PM UTC

hollerith wrote: post #17

Trader Joe's has jackfruit chips occasionally. Pretty expensive, though, per pound or per calorie.

I never saw them at Trader Joe's but they are always there at Indian grocery stores in NYC/NJ and it is reasonably priced.

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#28

Post by tomswartz07 » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:17 PM UTC

I'd love to see what could be done to these with some selective farming.

Heck, a good number of years ago, this is what a wild banana looked like: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/In...

If some enterprising farmers can figure out how to minimize the seeds and other less useful qualities, then there's a good chance this will be a new staple.

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#29

Post by danharaj » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:17 PM UTC

louhike wrote: post #15

vivin wrote: post #11

Not popular in India? News to me. Maybe not all over India. But in Kerala, the state I am from, Jackfruit is pretty popular there and is used to make a wide variety of dishes. My grandparents house has many jackfruit trees and we always had jackfruit to eat. It tastes nothing like pulled pork to me though. It's mainly sweet and very slightly tangy/sour. Fresh jackfruit has a kind of "crunch" to it. I can't really des…

> "Not popular in India? News to me." Yeah, you could find them everywhere in Karnataka and most of the states I went to in the South.

I think western writers have a silly perspective on India. It's more diverse than the European Union, really! How can one say anything at all about all of India at once?

Re: Jackfruit could save millions from starvation

#30

Post by yardie » Mon, Sep 21, 2015, 8:18 PM UTC

giancarlostoro wrote: post #9

I live in Florida, and sometimes as I drive throughout the state and see the hundreds and hundreds (though it may be thousands) of oranges alongside the road I wonder just how many go to waste that could be sent to places in need, and then I wonder if there's other places that do the same... Most of the United States is uninhabited, so I always wonder how much vegetation is just sitting there that could feed others.…

There is a movie from a decade ago called "Life and Debt." It explores how international loans and aid have actually suppressed the local economies of the countries they tried to help.

For example, chicken breast meat is very popular in the western world. Once they remove the white meat where does the rest of it go. What the producers can't sell domestically in the US or Canada they export to developing countries at cut rate prices. This drives the local farmers out of business.

Before donating fruits to countries in need (and can grow the same fruit) think long and hard about the impact that help might have on their local economy. In any other scenario this would be considered dumping and that country would be taken to WTO court.