On today’s blog, I’m showing you how to pick and cut open this huge fruit known as a jackfruit.

If you don’t know, Jackfruits are part of the breadfruit family and they originated in India and Malaysia. They look similar to a durian except the fact that 1) they’re usually bigger and 2) their thorns are not as spiky. Matter-of-fact, they are more blunt. Also the smell isn’t as pungent as a durian. It’s a lot sweeter and lighter in fragrance. Some people describe the smell as a cross between a banana and a pineapple.

Now I have to be honest with you because jackfruit is not my favorite, that’s why I usually don’t get it. But also they’re usually ginormous in size. So it’s too much for just me and John alone to consume. Lucky for me, I happen to find some jackfruit on sale for 2 pounds for $.99 and I couldn’t pass it up! So I got this bad boy for about $5! Even though this is probably one of the smallest jackfruit I’ve ever seen, after I cut it open, I ended up sharing it with some of our neighbors because it was still too much. So just FYI when buying the jackfruit.

When picking a jackfruit at the market, try to pick one that is more yellow and emits a sweet smell. That’s how you know it’s ready. Some people like to pick the green ones because they like to wait for it to ripen but I’m not that patient.

So the trick about cutting open a jackfruit is that you need a lot of coconut oil. It’s because when you cut open a jackfruit it releases this sticky sap that makes it difficult to work with. So make sure you cover your hands and knife in coconut oil and you should be good! Also be extra careful working with the knife cause now your hands will be a bit more slippery.

As always here is the video below of me cutting it open. I hope it helps, until next time!