JACKFRUIT

Most people have never heard of Jackfruit and I was one of those people as well up until a few weeks ago. As most of you know I do not eat pork and I came across an article talking about how Jackfruit could be used as a pork substitute for a pulled pork sandwich. I figured I would give it a try….can’t say you don’t like something if you have never tried it before…right? I talked to the produce manager at the health food store I go to and he said he can’t get it fresh, well first off I was a little surprised that he knew what I was talking about. Luckily they had some frozen. I picked up a bag and last night I made some bbq with it. Before I get to that let me tell you just a little bit about Jackfruit.

Jackfruit is believed to have originated in Southern India thousands of years ago, but is now widely cultivated in tropical regions around the world: SE Asia, South America, Australia and the Caribbean. Jackfruit grows on trees (aptly named jackfruit trees!). A single jackfruit tree can produce 2 to 3 tons of fruit per year, with a single jackfruit growing up to 80 pounds big! Similar in growing style to bananas or coconuts, Jackfruit is harvested straight from the tree.

Jackfruit is a drought-resistant, high in fiber, low in fat and contains iron, potassium and calcium. To use it as a meat substitute it has to be picked young and not fully ripened before the sugars fully develop. If it does fully ripen it is too sweet for a meat substitute but could be used for desserts or smoothies!

Now on to what I did with it. I cut up an onion and cooked that with the defrosted Jackfruit then added some pepper, garlic, brown sugar and ketchup. I should have tasted it first because it probably didn’t need the added sugar seeing as the frozen Jackfruit was fully ripened meaning it was at its peak sweetness. It is better to get the unripened to cook with but they didn’t have any available. Made some coleslaw to go with it and all in all I would definitely get some more…it was really good!!!

I also want to mention that I bought some at the store then a couple of days later @freedomtowrite did a post about Jackfruit as well. Make sure to check out her post HERE!

Images and the details about Jackfruit came from http://thejackfruitcompany.com/

SMOKED SALT

If you like a smoky taste on your food and don’t have a smoker or want to cook on the grill then getting some smoked salt is an excellent alternative! I get my supply from Zac over at @mericanhomestead, he sells it at his website https://anamericanhomestead.com/ oh and if you want to pay with crypto you can do that as well! Thanks Zac for the new batch, looking forward to putting it on everything! I have put it on: chicken, salads, popcorn, corn on the cob, beef, vegetables, pasta….ok there is not much I would not put it on, I guess that is why I said “everything”!

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Have you every heard of Jackfruit before? Would you try it? What about smoked salt? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks!