Jack of many tastes

Jackfruit (sometimes written jak) or kos runs through Lankan lives, history and culture for several centuries. Rich with multiple disease-preventive properties, jackfruit is considered a ‘super food’ in many western countries. The tree which bears this largest tree-borne fruit which has fed our people in hard times is revered as buth gaha. Yet, the full potential of this wonder fruit found in abundance is still not tapped here at home.

BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE

Jackfruit or kos preparation days of my childhood was not about cooking yet another curry for lunch or grabbing an ‘instant’ bag of pods or kos madulu from a vendor; it was a half-day undertaking, almost a ritual. In my grandparents’ sprawling garden, I would watch a domestic pluck a fruit off a jak tree and rip it open. Magilin achchci who would protect her time-tested recipes almost with her life would then take over, squatting before the giant fruit ready for the big task to follow.It would take a good hour or two for her to clean the yellow bulbs of koholle (the sticky substance inherent in the fruit) with coconut oil. An underling would join her to speed up the exercise and if a visiting old hand happened to be around, she too would join. Sipping their mid-day kahata or plain tea, gossip would abound cleaning kos madulu for the pot.

Jackfruit is a popular rice substitute in rural Sri Lanka often accompanied with traditionals like pol sambol and dried fish or karawala – an epicurean delight. The Jack tree is revered by Lankans as buth gaha translating to ‘rice tree’. The fruit has fed many Lankans during food shortages through history and the COVID pandemic is the newest on the list. Selling a bag or two of kos daily during the first two waves of the pandemic also helped feed many families here.

Botanically termed
Artocarpus heterophyllus, jackfruit. the largest of all fruit known in the world, originated in the Indo-Malayan region. From there it spread to neighbouring Sri Lanka, South China, South East Asia and also to certain parts of Africa including Kenya, Uganda, Zanzibar, Mauritius and Madagascar. It also found its way to Brazil, Jamaica and Australia. The major jackfruit growing areas in the world are Bangladesh (where it is designated as the national fruit), Brazil, Myanmar, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.

Acclaimed by villagers as a kiri gaha or a tree with sap, the jackfruit tree is also associated with many superstitious and rituals with a long history of that here at home. Historical records such as Mahawansa, Amawathura and Visuddi Margaya chronicle such connections. Robert Knox in his book, An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon too refers to the tree and its values. “Certain literary sources also document that a jackfruit orchard of 100,000 plants was grown under the royal patronage of Maha Parakramabahu. In early Sinhala literature this fruit is referred to by many terms including pana, panasa, herali and kos. Some of the names of towns and villages also reflect the close association Lankans have had with this fruit.

Kosgoda, Kosmulla, Koswatta, Kosgama, Panagoda, Panamure, Panamaldeniya and Heraliyawa are some examples,” points out the former Head of Fruits Division and Senior Research Officer from Horticultural Crops Research and Development Institute (HORDI) in Gannoruwa, Indrani Medagoda. The fruit research scientist who has extensively studied and presented papers on jackfruit also says that although it is consumed as a substitute for rice, it remains an underutilized crop in local agriculture. “Only about 30% of the total production is consumed and rest is wasted,” remarks Medagoda who calls for strategies to enhance the utilization of this wonder fruit to increase the income of growers and to enhance its contribution towards food security.

Jackfruit is considered to be an essential crop in the island given its multiple values include timber, medicinal, cultural and environmental. There are two fruiting seasons explains Medagoda. “March-June is the major season and November to January is the minor season. However, there are some off-season and year-round bearing trees as well.”

The traditional knowledge on jackfruit is used only at household level and dissemination of such knowledge among the growers and other interest groups is important remarks the scientist. “An integrated approach is needed to improve the conservation and utilization of genetic resources of the jak trees growing in Sri Lanka. This would improve productivity, quality and income from cultivation and will contribute to poverty alleviation and increased food security among the rural communities,” she adds.

Philanthropist and independence fighter Arthur V Dias, a landowner/planter, pioneered a jackfruit propagation across the island in 1918 earning himself the endearment Kos Mama. His campaign was instrumental in declaring jak a protected tree and none can be felled without a permit testifying to its importance in the country.

Jackfruit comes in many a form; an immature fruit which is polos is often cooked as a curry popular as polos ambula. Another is polos mallum. Polos ambula is now popular in overseas restaurants as well. “At one time polos was available only in Asian supermarkets in England, but today it is available in most supermarkets and stocks run out very quickly. It is a very popular vegetarian dish and is also a popular substitute for pulled pork dishes in restaurants,” says Padma Tennakoon from Staffordshire in the UK.

A can of jackfruit costs around
£ 3.50 in the UK and the price varies from shop to shop says Padma who had been living in England for nearly 50 years now. She loves the honey-sweet waraka (ripe jackfruit bulb) as well as jak in its other forms. “Waraka too is available canned but still found only in Asian supermarkets. Nothing can match fresh kos and waraka we used to enjoy back home in Sri Lanka but when you live abroad craving our traditional food, we are more than happy to have them even in tins or jars,” she says.

Jackfruit is popular in Australia as well. It is found canned, frozen and raw in both local and Sri Lankan supermarkets, says Lanchana Alwis who is reading for her Master’s degree in the University of Melbourne. “Raw jak is expensive compared to other fruits here. It is about $16 a kilo. A can (400g) costs about $4.50. Although I have still not seen it served as a curry in Australian restaurants, most Lankan restaurants in Melbourne serve kos curry for lunch and it is quite popular even among the locals. However, certain Australian restaurants offer BBQ jackfruit sandwiches and pulled jackfruit tacos.”

Jackfruit can be served boiled, as a kos beduma, atu kos, kos eta beduma and kalu pol maluwa. Ripe fruit could be either waraka or vela. Waraka is firmer than vela which is slimy and less preferred. Waraka sprinkled with a dash of pepper and salt is a succulent dessert and its fruity aroma is hard to hide. Some like it, others don’t.

The disease-preventive properties of jackfruit have earned it recognition as a ‘super food’ in many western countries, says Head of Nutrition at the Department of Nutrition at the Medical Research Institute (MRI) and President of the Sri Lanka Medical Nutrition Association (SLMNA), Dr. Renuka Jayatissa. “Sri Lanka has still not fully recognized the fruit’s health benefits and measures need to be in place to be more creative with its preparation and popularize it among young people,” observes Dr. Jayatissa who cites roasted jackfruit as an example. “This could be a healthy snack with less energy which would not affect weight.”

Although a few upmarket outlets and restaurants are experimenting with jackfruit dishes, the potential is still largely unoptimized says the Clinical Nutritionist. “Jackfruit can be a healthy filling for cutlets and patties and polos is a wonderful topping for pizzas. These should be made more freely available.”

Jackfruit is a rich source of potassium which is essential to maintain healthy blood pressure levels and a third of our daily potassium requirement could be met with one tea cup of jackfruit explains Dr. Jayatissa. A very rich source of fibre as well, jackfruit consumption could minimize the risk of colon and prostate cancer. Its antioxidants have cancer preventive properties, especially against breast cancer, she says.

Jackfruit is a also a good source of Vitamin A and magnesium. “A cup of jackfruit can meet 40% of the daily requirement of magnesium which helps prevent muscle cramps. Jak seeds are a good source of proteins and energy and it is always encouraged to cook jak with the seeds. Other curries made out of seeds such as kalu pol maluwa are very healthy.”

The ripe waraka has more carbohydrates than the raw fruit says Dr. Jayatissa. “The good news is that waraka is a low-carb food and even those with diabetes can safely enjoy it as it has the bonus of minimizing the absorption of carbohydrates because of the presence of fibre. It is a wonder fruit which is capable of controlling the sugar levels with the help of fibre,” says Dr. Jayatissa who encourages restaurant owners and chefs to be make optimum use of this fully organic nature’s panacea which is found in abundance countrywide.