Food Talk: Breadfruit Offers Slice of the Tropics

There are many local ingredients that were once staples of the Indonesian diet, but are now almost impossible to find in our supermarkets. Breadfruit is one of these forgotten staples. Originally grown in Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia, breadfruit is a popular treat in many tropical countries around the world.

Shaped like a small football, breadfruit is a melon-sized fruit with green and knobbly skin. When roasted, baked or deep-fried, its cream-colored flesh develops a firm, bread-like texture with the aroma of freshly baked bread. Breadfruit is very rich in starch. It contains 25 percent carbohydrates and 70 percent water. The fruit reveals a dazzling pattern when cut lengthwise or in cross-sections.

I have two recipes this week, one savory and one sweet. The savory recipe is roasted breadfruit with a touch of Mediterranean flavor, with thyme or rosemary and olive oil. The sweet recipe is deep-fried breadfruit coated in palm sugar syrup and cinnamon, with a distinctively Indonesian flavor. Enjoy!

1. Roasted breadfruit with thyme and olive oil
2. Breadfruit coated with palm sugar, caramel and cinnamon

Read more.. (article by Petty Elliott)
Breadfruit images