fresh jackfruit

Of all places to find fresh jackfruit, we found some at an Asian supermarket in Vacaville, CA. I say this is odd because there are not a lot of Asians in Vacaville, and for them to have an Asian market is a surprise in itself, but for the market to also have everything you need to make Asian delicacies is even more of a surprise.

I bought a small piece just to try it out. I told The Boy that the last time I had fresh jackfruit was when I visited my grandparents in Vietnam about ten years ago. I was surrounded by so much fresh, tropical fruit that I was gorging on fresh fruit the first day I was there. Then I took a nap and woke up with the sudden urge to puke up everything in my stomach, which included a lot of jackfruit, mangosteen, custard apple, dragon fruit, and possibly some chom choms. My grandparents said that my tummy couldn't handle the change in food so they instructed my aunts and uncles not to let me eat a ton of whatever I wanted (had to eat in moderation).

After I told The Boy this, he didn't let me eat all of the piece of jackfruit I bought because he was afraid I would puke in his brand new car. I ate half of it, didn't puke in the car, and finished the rest after our shopping trip. It was not as sweet as I remembered, so I think it needed to ripen up a little more.

This is the rind and all the sticky stuff in the center that protects the meaty parts of the jackfruit.

And here's a nice bowl of meaty jackfruit.

Before The Boy would try any, he asked what it tasted like. I couldn't come up with anything other than "it's a little sweet and tastes like...well like a jackfruit." I don't know what other fruit you could compare the taste to. What do you jackfruit eaters think?