Curious encounters with Cempedak

(Artocarpus integer)

Cempedak could be as well a fruit from other planet. Its shape and size are like nothing I have ever came across. Despite the fact that it is a smaller brother of famous Jackfruit it is still huge in comparison to any other fruits. It comes in irregular shapes and has the most intense sweet smell you can possibly imagine.

I saw this strange looking fruit for the first time hanging off the trees next to my bungalow in Koh Phangan in Thailand where I spent two weeks in July. Judging by its looks I did not even consider it could be eatable hence I did not pay much attention to it. At least not until I saw it on the fruit stall at one of the night festivals when I decided to take up the challenge and take it home.

At that time I still had no idea of the name of the fruit or how to approach it so the hole adventure started with tackling it. The rind was thick but soft, so it was easy to cut it length-wise into half. Nevertheless who would imagine that the fruit was armed with glue-like juice and whatever touched it was sticky forever. So if you ever decide to open it yourself do wear silicone gloves or use some oil on your knife to prevent it from getting messy just like locals do. I would also recommend using newspaper instead of a plate as you can safely scoop out fleshy, yellowish-orange pulp which encases each of many brown seeds inside. Oh boy, I cannot find words to describe the sweetness, stickiness and mushiness with a rather chewy skin if you eat it raw.

Now let’s clarify things if you consider Durian’s odour strong do not even come close to this one. Cempedak killed me with the intensity of its smell. I will be frank I could not handle the smell for long but of course I did not want it to defeat me so I did packed one seed surrounded by the generous pulp into my mouth. But it wasn’t to be this time. I decided to get rid of the fruit immediately and abandoned it in the bin several metres away from my bungalow. However it was not enough for this monster! Be aware! The odour of Cempedak is so strong! We could smell it in the place where we opened it for many hours afterwards. My advice — burry it like in a crime movie if you can! This is the only way to get rid of the smell I guess…

That would be my experience with Cempedak. It totally defeated me however as I am an adventurous monkey I might give it a try in Indonesia which is famous of many varieties of this fruit. Perhaps I will have a different experience.

What are your thoughts on this bizarre fruit?

Origin

Despite being very popular in entire South East Asia Cempedak fruit is native to only two countries — India and Sri Lanka. Yet the specimens are known to occur in a number of other regions, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Myanmar.

Uses

• Cempedak wood is sold under the name jack wood
• The fruit is also used to make rope and varnish (gum or resin)
• It is used in the production of robes by Buddhist monks
• The bar from the tree is used in the production of the yellow dyeThe bar from the tree is used in the production of the yellow dye

The Looks

• The colour is bright-green when the fruit is still immature and turns to brownish green when it matures
• Depending on the size it can contain between 50-100 seeds
• It has a bright yellow pule inside covering large brown seeds

Eating

• Seeds of this fruit can be fried, roasted or boiled
• Young leaves are consumed as vegetables
• Dried and salted flesh can be made into jerky
• The fruit is usually eaten fresh
• It is also served battered deep fried as a snack or dessert at the markets
• Cempedak Cake is very popular in Malaysia and I know as a fact that Swich Cafe is famous of theirs, so it is worth trying if feeling adventurous

Interesting facts

• It takes 100 to 120 days for the fruit to mature after the flowers unfold
• Cempedak is in season from November to February
• The local fruit seller assured me that there are 36 different varieties of the fruit in Malaysia all having subtle differences in taste and texture

Nutritional benefits

• It contains ascorbic acid, enzymes, bioflavonoid and also rich in minerals & vitamins
• Cempedak is generous in vitamin A content which helps to keep healthy eyes
• It is rich in dietary fiber helping to maintain digestive tract working properly
• High content of its vitamin C helps to decrease the cholesterol content in the blood
• It also consists a lot of water (up to 67 grams per 100g)

How to choose one

There are two ways of using and choosing Cempedak. Either as a vegetable and then it is best consumed in its unripe stage. It should be green and hard. This is the only time when Cempedak is non odorous.

The second way when the fruit is ripe and has yellowish-brown colour and yields to the touch. It is characterised by a very strong aroma and weight and the inside of the fruit is yellow as well.

• Read more at www.crackingtheoyster.com