Processed Food Products from Jackfruit

The Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) or popularly known as “Langka” in the Philippines,  is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family (Moraceae). It is native to parts of South and Southeast Asia, and is widely cultivated in our country and other tropical regions of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

The flesh of the jackfruit is starchy and fibrous, and is known to have a high nutritional value. It contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, iron, sodium, zinc and niacin among many other nutrients. Jackfruit also benefits one’s health as it has a low caloric content.

Jackfruit is naturally sweet with subtle flavoring and can be used to make a variety of dishes, including custards, cakes, halo-halo, ice cream and more.

PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS FROM JACKFRUIT

Dehydrated or Dried Sweetened Jackfruit

The dehydrated jackfruit is a nutritious snack item from ripe jackfruit pulp. It is golden yellow to golden orange and has a chewy texture with a sweet and sour taste. It is safer than the other dried fruit products because it is free from sulfite preservatives, which may trigger allergic reactions in some consumers. It is the only sulfite-free dried jackfruit product in the market.

Production Process:

1. Slice open the ripe jackfruits and take out the pulp by separating the seeds and the rags.
2. Cook 60 kg of the pulp in 60 L sugar syrup (30 kg sugar + 30 L water) until the pulp turns soft to touch.
3. Let cool to about 50ºC and add 360 g ascorbic acid and 360 g citric acid. Mix thoroughly and soak overnight in the sugar syrup.
4. Rinse in running water for a few seconds and drain.
5. Spread the drained pulp on drying trays lined with nylon mash to prevent from sticking on aluminum trays. Dry at 70ºC – 75ºC for 8 hours.
6. Interchange drying trays every hour for uniform drying. Pack in 0.004-inch thick polypropylene bags at 90 g net weight.
7. Store the packed products in wooden screen cabinets in a cool dry place.

Vacuum Fried Jackfruit

The vacuum fried jackfruit is a nutritious snack item from ripe jackfruit pulp that is yellow to golden brown. It is sweet and crunchy. It is processed at low temperature (below 100ºC) under vacuum thereby maintaining its sensory and nutritional qualities. It has no added sugar and preservatives. It is the only vacuum fried jackfruit product in the market that uses ripe pulp.

Production Process:

1. Slice open the ripe jackfruits and take out the pulp by separating the seeds and the rags.
2. Blanch 20 kg of the pulp in boiling water until the pulp turns soft to touch (67 kg of fresh jackfruit will yield around 20 kg pulp).
3. Let the blanched jackfruit to cool. Then pack in polypropylene bag and freeze.
4. The following day, take out the frozen jackfuit pulp. Deep fry in frying chamber. The vacuum pump will be turned on to reach the required vacuum of 25 inch Hg or higher. The frying operation per batch is 2.5 hours at 90ºC.
5. Place the fried product inside a clean sackcloth and centrifuge for 7 minutes. After centrifuging, allow to cool and pack in 0.004-inch thick polypropylene bags at 50 g net weight. One batch could yield 120 bags. Store packed products inside a wooden screen cabinet in a cool dry place.

Jackfruit Tart and Pastillas

The processing of jackfruit tart and jackfruit-flavored pastillas is a technology developed for a small and large-scale food processors. The process are simple and do not need sophisticated machines and food ingredients.

JACKFRUIT TART

Materials:

Crust

• 1 kg all purpose flour
• 250 gms margarine
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 cup sugar
• Filling
• 1 kg jackfruit
• 1 can condensed milk

Procedures:

Crust

1. Stir flour. Add sugar and margarine.
2. Mix until margarine is broken into fine particles.
3. Sprinkle with water and gather mixture to form a dough.
4. Roll out to about 1 mm thick and cut with cutter. Shape into tart shell.
5. Bake half cooked.
6. Fill shell with filling mixture and bake.

Filling

1. Mix jackfruit puree and condensed milk.
2. Cook in low fire stirring constantly until light brown.

JACKFRUIT-FLAVORED PASTILLAS

Materials:

• 1 pack fresh milk (1000 ml)
• 1 pack powdered milk (180g)
• 1 cup jackfruit puree

Procedure:

1. Mix fresh milk and sugar.
2. Cook in a low fire stirring constantly until about to thicken.
3. Combine jackfruit puree and powdered milk and continue cooking until it does not stick to the pan.
4. Knead in a chopping board with a rolling pin.
5. Cool and wrap individually in cellophane sheets.

For more information, please contact:

The Consortium Director
Visayas Consortium for Agriculture
and Resources Program (VICARP)
Leyte State University (LSU)
Visca, Baybay, Leyte
Tel: (053) 335-2617
Fax: (053) 335-2615
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

or

Dr. Patricio S. Faylon
Executive Director
PCARRD, Los Baños, Laguna
Tel: (049) 536-0014 to 20; 536-5907
Fax: (049) 536-0016; 536-7922
Email: [email protected]

Source: .dti.gov.ph, en.wikipedia.org; Photo: dti.gov.ph