After years of living in Thailand, every now and then I forgot how much I hate jackfruit and I attempt to try it again.
That’s what happened this weekend when I headed to my local outdoor market last night to pick up some fresh fruit and some eggs, and came across a market stall selling jackfruit. Only 20 baht for a package containing about 12 large arils or bulbs of jackfruit so, of course, I bought one.
For dinner tonight, I opened it up and attempted to eat some of this Thai fruit for dessert and……oh yea Gods…..that’s when I remembered how much I hate jackfruit.
Weirdly, there’s not even that much to hate about Jackfruit. It’s not particularly strong in flavor, it doesn’t smell and it doesn’t have an odd or slimy texture. It really is just bland, boring and not remotely delicious.And, while jackfruit afficionados talk about its ‘fruity flavor and ‘subtle taste’, I just think ‘Where’s the fruit taste’ and ‘why the hell am I eating this?’
So, yes, after feeding one of my rabbits a small piece of jackfruit (she absolutely adores it), I threw most of the rest of it away (I can’t give more than a small piece to my rabbit or it will give her diarrhea). That’s because I couldn’t handle one more taste of that soft, unjuicy and frankly dull fruit. Besides, it gives me stomach ache.
I’m just hoping I remember that next time I attempt to buy it again.
Jackfruit, of course, is available for purchase all over Thailand, if you want to try it. At just about every supermarket, outdoor market and farmers’ market. If you don’t think you’d care for the actual jackfruit itself, you can also buy jackfruit chips, or dried jackfruit, something I actually love.