Have you ever heard of the ackee fruit.
It's this fascinating tropical fruit that belongs to the same family as lychee and long and botanically.
It is known as pliegia sapida.
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| Ackee Fruit: Is it Safe to Eat Ackee Fruit? |
It is a very strong taste of you guessed it cheddar cheese.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Edible Component of Ackee Fruit
- Scientific Name of Ackee
- where did the Ackee Fruit English Name Come From?
- What's the safety of eating Ackee Fruit
- Ackee Fruit Tree
- Characteristics of Ackee Fruit
- What does the taste of Ackee Fruit like?
- Which Season does the Ackee Fruit grow in?
- Types of Ackee Fruit
What else would a rare tropical fruit taste like the fruit is pear-shaped that turns from green to red to orange then splits open to reveal three large black seeds.
Edible Component of Ackee Fruit:
The only edible component of these fruits is a yellow spongy flesh that surrounds the seeds.
Both the seed and the rind are deadly poison, if you eat either one of them you will suffer from something called Jamaican vomiting sickness.
Ackee is native to West Africa but was brought to Jamaica and nowadays is common in the Caribbean.
Scientific Name of Ackee:
You know what's interesting, its scientific name is a tribute to Captain William Bligh who transported the fruit from Jamaica
to the Royal Botanic Gardens in England way back in 1793.
where did the Ackee Fruit English Name Come From?
Its English name Ackee comes from the West African akan language specifically the term akie fufo.
What's the safety of eating Ackee Fruit:
Ackee has a bit of a notorious reputation as it's known to be poisonous if improperly consumed.
But don't worry when ripe and prepared correctly the fruit arrows are absolutely safe to eat and are even considered quite delicious.
They're a crucial component of various Caribbean Cuisines especially in Jamaica where Ackee is not only the national fruit
but also a delicacy.
Ackee Fruit Tree:
The Ackee tree is an evergreen growing to about 10 meters with a dense crown.
Its leaves are compound long and elliptical with leathery leaflets and the inflorescences are fragrant.
The tree blooms during the warm months producing flowers with greenish white petals.
Characteristics of Ackee Fruit:
When it comes to the fruit itself it's pear-shaped with typically three lobes as it ripens the Ackee changes color from green to a bright red to yellow orange and splits open naturally to reveal three large shiny black seeds.
Each partially surrounded by a soft creamy or spongy white to yellow flesh.
What does the taste of Ackee Fruit like?
It's got a unique nut like flavor and
the texture of scrambled egg.
Which Season does the Ackee Fruit grow in?
The tree can bear fruit throughout the year but the main periods of fruit production are typically January to March and October to November.
Now it's pretty cool that there are up to 48 cultivars of Ackee.
Types of Ackee Fruit:
They're mainly divided into two types:
the butter and the cheese types.
The cheese type is pale yellow and is more robust making it ideal for the canning industry.
On the other hand the butter type has a deeper yellow color is more delicate and is better suited for certain cuisines.
Unripe Ackee Fruit including both pods and seeds can cause something called Jamaican
vomiting sickness due to its hypoglycin content.
However this risk is only associated with unripe fruits.
If the pods are bright red and split open easily the typically ripe and illness is not a risk if you do manage to purchase kandaki.
Remember to drain it completely as it's usually packed in Brine and already cooked candy key can last for quite a long time.