Breadfruit is believed to originate from New Guinea before being spread throughout the Pacific by travellers. In the late 18th century, breadfruits were introduced to the Caribbean and were considered ‘slave food’ although the slaves refused to eat them back then. Breadfruit belongs to the mulberry family and is very starchy. It is protected by a thick green skin and each breadfruit is made up of up to 1500-2000 individual flowers. The male flower typically appearing first is between from 10 cm to 45 cm long and is composed of thousands of tiny, creamy yellow individual flowers attached to a spongy core. It fades to dark brown with overtime. Nowadays, breadfruit is one of the most popular staple food in the Caribbean and are eaten in a variety of ways: boiled, baked, roasted, fried and even sweet. It can also be made into breadfruit flour, a product much sought after by gluten-free products consumers. Now here’s an easy recipe of breadfruit chips:
What you need:
1 Breadfruit
Oil for deep frying, it could also be coconut oil to add another exotic flavour
Salt
Method:
1. Wash and cut the breadfruit in four. Remove the core and peel. Cut into length-wise strips.
2. Heat oil. Fry for about two minutes or until slightly brown. The breadfruit cooks pretty quickly so there is a need to monitor it to ensure that it does not get too brown or burn). Drain on absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
3. Season with salt and serve immediately.
