JACKFRUIT HARVEST GALORE!!!

I harvested a few MOUNATAINOUS jackfruit from my garden tree. The one on my lap here is ripe, and the back one is still green. You can see the sticky white sap in a few spots ( i mean really sticky!! and you CANNOT get it off your hands!!) These fruits are SO rewarding but will kick your butt if you dont prepare them properly. I learned from an indigenous person you need to oil a big knife and cut the top off, then let it sit for a few hours while the sap rises out of the top,. Wipe it away and the rest of the fruit is ready to go. Eat the ripe golden juicy segments, or if you have a surplus of fruit, these can be made into  "jackfruit crisps, " (ie dried fruit snacks)
 I found the most exciting part of harvesting these fruits the additional ways of traditional eating with them. The seeds, which are quite big, can be boiled, deskinned, then roasted like chestnuts,, and are DELICIOUS and nutty, and a heavy source of protein! They are known, for example, as "hot mit luoc" in vietnam, and "palakottai" in India/ Tamil. The green jackfruit flesh is also used in currys etc as an everyday vegetable component. Recipes for this come from all over the south east asian/ indian region.
I made a traditional vegetable curry, with coconut cream etc. and included large chunks of green "fruit" to see if it tasted good. Along with all the other ingredients, this was my favourite part!! Melts in the mouth, but still chewy and like chicken or something! I was amazed. Also, it seemed to be really good  for my stomach! Maybe it has enzymes or something to make you feel real good! Highly recommendded if you ever get to try this method of cooking!! Bon aPPetite!

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD!

We have SO MANY pawpaws growing on my massive tree, I need to find ways of using them. So i finally made my first GREEN PAPAYA salad... interesting taste, the green papaya is definately a "vegetable" i would use again. Very crisp, slightly sweet but fresh tasting..I was surprised!

Heres a recipie for som dotom malakor  which uses the flesh of one small papaya.. All the flavour is provided from the spices and chilli you have to pound up in a mortar..This is an interesting recipe as it says green mango, cucumber and white guava can also be used. I love creative usage of seasonal produce here!

WONDERFUL OLD BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATION OF TROPICAL FRUITS FROM THE CARRIBEAN

-a. Sapotille. b. le Mango. c. Cirouelles. d. Pomme rose. e. Fruit du Mombin-

Description/notes: Sapodilla fruit, mango fruit, cirouelle fruit, rose apples, and a plum-like fruit known as mombin.

The sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is native to the Yucatan and Mexico and has spread throughout the Caribbean. Its sap was used as a gum by the Maya. Mangos (Mangifera indica) are native to southern Asia. Cirouelles (Spondias purpurea) are also known as mombin rouge. The pomme rose or rose apple (Syzygium jambos) is originally from India and was introduced to Jamaica in 1762, spreading to the rest of the Caribbean from there. Mombin fruit or a kind of plum (Spondias mombin) is native to South America and common in the West Indies.

-a. le Citronier des Haies. b. Fruit de l'Abricotier-

Description/notes: Branches and fruit of Caribbean versions of lemon and apricot trees. Text notes that the apricot was unlike the European apricot; it may be Mammea americana, the mammee apple, or St. Domingo apricot.

- Thanks to the website BibliOdyssey for its unsurpassed collection of open source images!

White Mulberry Cross

Picked today in the Angel Street permaculture Garden near my home. A wonderful  "white mulberry" cross cultivar. "Morus Alba is the latin name for the white mulberry, and researching it i found all differet parts of the plant are used for medicinal purposes. This variety of mulberry seems to fruit early in life, and grow very fast. It is an ideal addition if you have the room in a permaculture garden. These fruit were very sweet and juicy! (even though they are white and dont look quite ripe>they are!)

MONSTERA DELICIOSA!

The wondefully named fruit from the ordinary looking houseplant, my monstera deliciosa will be ready when the bottom parts start to turn pale and look like they are ready to be eaten. It tastes like a combination between custard apple and banana..They are often called the "fruit salad plant"!!

My mother in law told me these buds could also be cooked and eaten, although im not sure i am willing to try until i get some more information!! anyone know of the scientific name of this plant?? How do you cook it?? thanks!

MOUNTAINS OF MULBERRIES!

                                               
Today i have been eating Mountains of Mulberries! Out on the ladder high in the wind blown branches! Thinking of making jam with all these berries! A couple of years ago a seedling appeared from nowhere in the garden, i imagine a bird dropped a mulberry flying overhead, now we have so many berries I dont know what to do with them, mulberry tress seem to fruit even when they are still very young!

Our Jackfruit Tree

WOW!! We have a huge and mysterious fruit growing in the back yard, i have discovered it is called a JACKFRUIT TREE. Apparently it is a delicacy in tropical regions and I am looking forward to trying it. My research says it can be eaten as a fruit, when it is very ripe , but also as a vegetable when it is still green!! I love this way of using produce in Asian cooking, especially when you are growing it yourself and there is a sudden glut of fruit. It definatelty makes sense to use it throughout its growing cycle!