Have you been making an effort to add more plants to your diet? If so, while lentils, beans, and tofu are well-known meat substitutes, there’s a fruit to add to your diet mix: jackfruit.
Jackfruit (with the scientific name of Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a familiar, close, and widely grown fruit in Vietnam. With various ingredients and pharmacological effects, this fruit has both high nutritional value and a good use for our health.
Here, let's learn more about the characteristics and usage of this fruit tree with Vagrofood - the leading distributor, supplier, and exporter of fresh fruit in Vietnam. In particular, jackfruit is one of the key export products that Vagrofood supplies to many international markets.
What is jackfruit
In Vietnam, there are about 15 types of jackfruit, and some species are fruit trees, such as Tố Nữ jackfruit and Thai jackfruit ... scattered in many other provinces and regions. This is a shade tree with good tolerance to extremes, helping to improve the environment.
Jackfruit is a large tree that can be more than 30 meters tall, has a dark gray body, has deep roots in the ground, and has good drought resistance. Young branches are hairy at the top; when old, they will be smooth and dark brown.
Leaves simple, margins whole, alternate, base rounded. Leaf blade ovate or oval, about 20 cm long, about 5-9 cm wide. The leaves are wrinkled on both sides, glossy dark green above and lighter below, with prominent veins in a network.
The tree prefers a tropical climate, hot and humid, with an average temperature of 23-26 degrees Celsius and an average annual rainfall of over 1500 mm. Jackfruit trees can grow on many different types of soil. The time from young fruit to maturity is 3-6 months (depending on variety and place of planting).
Significant benefit of jackfruit
1. Jackfruit has a high nutritional content
100g of jackfruit flesh provides 95 calories. Ripe jackfruit meat has a characteristic aroma and is easy to digest thanks to simple sugars such as fructose and sucrose - which will increase energy reserves and invigorate the body directly.
2. Jackfruit contains a lot of fiber
Jackfruit is rich in fiber, so it is a good laxative for digestion. The thread will help protect the mucous membrane of the intestine by reducing the contact time and the attachment of cancer-causing chemicals in the colon.
3. Contains vitamin A
Fresh jackfruit meat contains vitamin A and flavonoid pigments such as carotene-Ay, xanthin, lutein, and cryptoxanthin-Ay. This compound works to maintain the integrity of mucous membranes and skin. When eating natural fruits rich in vitamin A and carotene, studies have shown that they can completely protect the lungs and prevent oral cancer.
4. Higher anti-oxidation thanks to vitamin C
In addition, jackfruit is a good source of antioxidant vitamin C. Jackfruit provides about 13.7 mg or 23% of the RDA. Consuming foods rich in vitamin C helps to keep the body immune to infections and harmful free radicals.
5. A rich source of B vitamins
Jackfruit is one of the rare fruits that are rich in B vitamins. B vitamins include B6 (pyridoxine), niacin, riboflavin, and folic acid.
6. Is an abundant source of essential minerals
Fresh jackfruit is a good source of potassium, magnesium, manganese, and iron. Potassium is essential to cells and body fluids and helps control heart rate and blood pressure.
7. Keep the heart healthy
According to the Mayo Clinic, jackfruit also contains potassium and fiber, two nutrients that have been shown to promote a healthy heart. According to the American Heart Association, potassium helps lessen the negative effects of sodium on blood pressure.
And consuming a diet rich in fiber can lower cholesterol levels and reduce blood pressure and inflammation.
8. Jackfruit and weight loss
Incorporating jackfruit certainly does have the potential to help with weight loss. Jackfruit contains 2.5 g of fiber per serving. It will help you reach the recommended fiber intake, which the Mayo Clinic lists as 21 to 25 g per day for women and 30 to 38 g per day for men.
The majority of Americans do not eat enough fiber, according to an article published in the January–February 2017 issue of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
Fiber is an important nutrient for meeting your weight loss goals because it adds bulk to your diet, according to MedlinePlus.
Jackfruit can help to keep you feeling fuller for longer periods of time, thus cutting back on unnecessary snacking and grazing. Plus, eating jackfruit as a substitute for meat will save you calories. Because it contains fewer calories than most meats.
According to USDA, a 150 g serving of jackfruit has 157 calories (before any sauces are added), compared with 375 calories in 150 g of pulled pork.
How to Select and Store Jackfruit
Observe the shape: The delicious jackfruit usually has a round, balanced body. Do not choose fruits with lots of convexities because they will usually not taste good and do not have many segments. Besides, it would be best if you prioritized choosing fruits that are heavy in your hand because these fruits will often have many features, have less fiber, and are ripe and juicy.
Observe the spines and eyes on the peel: You should choose fruit with immense, even, not sharp, and very sparse spines. Fruits with sharp spines, close together, and dark green skin is usually unripe. Absolutely do not choose fragrant fruits and ripe, but the spines are still strong, complex, and close together because they may have been injected with medicine to ripen; eating will affect health and not be delicious.
You can taste a few pieces of jackfruit in advance. If it has a sweet, shy, not good taste, don't buy it because these jackfruits may be overripe. And if the jackfruit is delicious, sweet, soft, fragrant, and has a golden color, then you should buy it!
Notice the smell of jackfruit. Delicious ripe jackfruit will have a characteristic aroma, especially naturally ripe ones, and will often have a scent when smelling.
As for the "ripe" or "chemically soaked" fruits, when smelled, they will "not feel" an unmistakable aroma or no smell.
Summary
If you’re one of the many people who has started embracing meat-free meals, jackfruit should be on your radar. Its neutral flavor makes it a perfect partner for many sauces and spices, and its texture imitates pulled pieces of meat.
Jackfruit delivers a handful of key nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, B vitamins, and potassium. That said, you’ll want to keep in mind that it’s not a protein powerhouse like other meat substitutes and is mainly composed of carbohydrates.
If you are looking to import fresh jackfruit in bulk and at an affordable price, Vagrofood is one of best jackfruit producers and suppliers in Vietnam that you can cooperate with. Don't hesitate to contact us, we are always here to export jackfruit for you!
Address: No. 26, N1 Street, Phu My Hiep Residential Area, Dong An Town, Tan Dong Hiep Ward, Di An City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam.
Email: info@v-agrofood.com
Hotline: +84 3799 321 09
Website: vagrofood.com