Breadfruit ( Artocarpus altilis) is a species of Flowering plant in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae)[
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It is grown in 90 countries throughout South and Southeast Asia, islands in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, Central America, and Africa.[ Its name is derived from the texture of the moderately ripe fruit when cooked, similar to freshly baked bread and having a potato-like flavor.]
The trees have been widely planted in tropical regions, including lowland Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean.[ In addition to the fruit serving as a staple food in many cultures, the light, sturdy timber of breadfruit has been used for making furniture, houses, and in the tropics.][
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Breadfruit is closely related to A. camansi (breadnut or seeded breadfruit) of New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines, A. blancoi ( tipolo or antipolo) of the Philippines, and slightly more distantly to A. mariannensis ( dugdug) of Micronesia, all of which are sometimes also referred to as "breadfruit". It is also closely related to the jackfruit.
Description
Breadfruit trees grow to a height of .
The trees are monoecious, with male and female flowers growing on the same tree. The male emerge first, followed shortly afterward by the female flowers. The latter grow into capitula, which are capable of pollination just three days later. Pollination occurs mainly by fruit bats, but cultivated varieties produce fruit without pollination.[
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Breadfruit is one of the highest-yielding food plants, with a single tree producing up to 200 or more grapefruit-sized fruits per season, requiring limited care. In the South Pacific, the trees yield 50 to 150 fruits per year, usually round, oval, or oblong, and weighing .
Breadfruit is closely related to the breadnut.
Propagation
Breadfruit is propagated mainly by seeds, though seedless fruit breadfruit can be propagated by transplanting suckers that grow off the surface roots of the tree.
For large-scale propagation, root cuttings are preferred, using segments about thick and long.
Etymology and common names
The term "breadfruit" was first used in the 17th century to describe the bread-like texture of the fruit when baked.
Taxonomy
According to DNA fingerprinting studies, the seeded wild ancestor of breadfruit is the breadnut ( A. camansi), which is native to New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines.
A. camansi was domesticated and selectively bred in Polynesia, giving rise to the mostly seedless A. altilis. Micronesian breadfruit also show evidence of hybridization with the native A. mariannensis, while most Polynesian and Melanesian cultivars do not. This indicates that Micronesia was initially colonized separately from Polynesia and Melanesia through two different migration events, later coinciding in eastern Micronesia.
Breadfruit was one of the canoe plants spread by Austronesian voyagers around 3,000 years ago into Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia, where it was not native.
Distribution and habitat
Breadfruit is an equatorial, lowland species. It has been spread from its Pacific source to many tropical regions.
In 1769, Joseph Banks was stationed in Tahiti as part of the expedition commanded by Captain James Cook.
The plant grows best below elevations below , but is found at elevations of . Its preferred soils are neutral to (Soil pH of 6.1–7.4) and either sand, sandy loam, loam, or sandy clay loam. Breadfruit is able to grow in and Soil salinity. The breadfruit is ultra-tropical, requiring a temperature range of and an annual rainfall of .
Nutrition
Breadfruit is 71% water, 27% , and 1% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a reference amount of , raw breadfruit supplies 103 , is a rich source of vitamin C (32% of the Daily Value, DV), and provides a moderate source of potassium (16% DV), with no other nutrients in significant content.
Uses
Food
Breadfruit is a staple food in many tropical regions. Most breadfruit varieties produce fruit throughout the year. Both ripe and unripe fruit have culinary uses; unripe breadfruit is cooked before consumption.
One breadfruit tree can produce each season.[ ] Remnants of pit-like formations with stone scattered around (presumed to line them) are often clues indicating prehistoric settlement to archaeologists studying precontact history of French Polynesia.
In addition to being edible raw, breadfruit can be dried and ground into flour and the seeds can be cooked for consumption.
Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands and Madagascar
The seedless breadfruit is found in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, where it is called i=on. It is commonly made into fritters and eaten as snacks. Breadfruit fritters are sold as local street food.
In the Philippines, breadfruit is known as rimas in Tagalog language and kolo in the Visayan languages. It is also called kamansi (also spelled camansi), along with the closely related Artocarpus camansi, and the endemic Artocarpus blancoi (tipolo or antipolo). All three species, as well as the closely related jackfruit, are commonly used much in the same way in savory dishes. The immature fruits are most commonly eaten as Ginataang langka]] (cooked with coconut milk).
In the Hawaiian staple food called poi, the traditional ingredient of mashed taro root can be replaced by, or augmented with, mashed breadfruit (ulu in Hawaiian). The resulting "breadfruit poi" is called poi ulu.
South Asia
In Sri Lanka, it is cooked as a curry using coconut milk and spices (which becomes a side dish) or boiled. Boiled breadfruit is a famous main meal. It is often consumed with scraped coconut or coconut sambol, made of scraped coconut, red chili powder, and salt mixed with a dash of lime juice. A traditional sweet snack made of finely sliced, sun-dried breadfruit chips deep-fried in coconut oil and dipped in heated treacle or sugar syrup is known as rata del petti.[Apé Lamā Lōkaya:1950, Chapter 31 (Vijitha Yapa Publications) ] In India, of breadfruit, called jeev kadge phodi in Konkani language or kadachakka varuthath in Malayalam, are a local delicacy in coastal Karnataka and Kerala. In Seychelles, it was traditionally eaten as a substitute for rice, as an accompaniment to the mains. It would either be consumed boiled ( friyapen bwi) or grilled ( friyapen griye), where it would be put whole in the wood fire used for cooking the main meal and then taken out when ready. It is also eaten as a dessert, called ladob friyapen, where it is boiled in coconut milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
Caribbean and Latin America
In Belize, the Mayan people call it masapan.
In Puerto Rico, breadfruit is called panapén or pana, for short, although the name pana is often used to refer to breadnut, seeds of which have traditionally been boiled, peeled, and eaten whole. In some inland regions, it is also called mapén and used to make pasteles and . Breadfruit is often served boiled with a mixture of sauteed bacalao (salted cod fish), olive oil, and onions, mostly as tostones where about 1-inch chunks are fried, lighty flattened, and fried again. Mofongo de panapén is fried breadfruit mashed with olive oil, garlic, broth, and chicharrón. Rellenos de panapén is the breadfruit version of papa rellena. Dipping sauce can be made from boiled, ripe breadfruit, similar to chutney, using spices, sesame seeds, herbs, lentil, coconut milk, and fruit. Both ripe and unripe fruit are boiled together and mashed with milk and butter to make pastelón de panapén, a dish similar to lasagna. Ripe breadfruit is used in desserts, including flan de pana (breadfruit custard). Cazuela is a crustless pie with ripe breadfruit, spices, raisins, coconut milk, and sweet potatoes. Breadfruit flour is sold all over Puerto Rico and used for making bread, pastries, cookies, pancakes, waffles, crepes, and almojábana.
In the Dominican Republic, it is called buen pan or "good bread". Breadfruit is not popular in Dominican cookery and is used mainly for feeding pigs.
In Barbados, breadfruit is boiled with salted meat and mashed with butter to make breadfruit coucou. It is usually eaten with saucy meat dishes.
In Haitian cuisine, steamed breadfruit is mashed to make a dish called tonmtonm which is eaten with a sauce made with okra and other ingredients, such as fish and crab.
In Trinidad and Tobago, breadfruit is boiled, then fried and eaten with saucy meat dishes like curried duck.
In Jamaica, breadfruit is boiled in soups or roasted on stove top, in the oven or on wood coal. It is eaten with the national dish ackee and salt fish. The ripe fruit is used in salads or fried as a side dish.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, it is eaten boiled in soups, roasted, and fried. Roasted breadfruit, served with fried jackfish, is the country's national dish. The ripe fruit is used as a base to make drinks, cakes, and ice cream.
Timber and other uses
Breadfruit was widely used in a variety of ways among Pacific Islanders. Its lightweight wood (specific gravity of 0.27)[ Its wood pulp can also be used to make paper, called breadfruit tapa cloth.][ The wood of the breadfruit tree was one of the most valuable timbers in the construction of traditional houses in Samoan architecture.
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Breadfruit contains having potential as an insect repellent.
Breadfruit, however, exudes latex upon harvesting, causing the plant sap to adhere to the surface, leading to the staining of the epicarp. Proper methods of breadfruit harvesting usually include the process of draining the latex and disposing of it.
In culture
On Puluwat in the Caroline Islands, in the context of sacred yitang lore, breadfruit ( poi) is a figure of speech for knowledge. This lore is organized into five categories: war, magic, meetings, navigation, and breadfruit.
According to an etiological Hawaiian myth, the breadfruit originated from the sacrifice of the war god Kū. After deciding to live secretly among mortals as a farmer, Kū married and had children. He and his family lived happily until a famine seized their island. When he could no longer bear to watch his children suffer, Kū told his wife that he could deliver them from starvation, but to do so he would have to leave them. Reluctantly she agreed, and at her word, Kū descended into the ground right where he had stood until only the top of his head was visible. His family waited around the spot he had last been, day and night, watering it with their tears until suddenly, a small green shoot appeared where Kū had stood. Quickly, the shoot grew into a tall and leafy tree that was laden with heavy breadfruits that Kū's family and neighbors gratefully ate, joyfully saved from starvation.
Many breadfruit hybrids and are widely distributed throughout the Pacific though they are seedless or otherwise biologically incapable of naturally dispersing long distances. It is therefore clear that humans aided distribution of the plant in the Pacific, specifically prehistoric groups who colonized the Pacific Islands. To investigate the patterns of human migration throughout the Pacific, scientists have used molecular dating of breadfruit hybrids and cultivars in concert with anthropological data. Results support the west-to-east migration hypothesis, in which the Lapita people are thought to have traveled from Melanesia to numerous islands.[
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The world's largest collection of breadfruit varieties was established by botanist Diane Ragone, from over 20 years' travel to 50 Pacific islands, on a plot outside of Hana, on the isolated east coast of Maui (Hawaii).
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