Getting the most out of jackfruit

Jackfruit, commonly known as ffene in central Uganda, was in ancient times consumed as a nutrient-rich fruit and as a therapeutic food. A tropical treat with all the delicious fruits, jackfruit remains underutilised and significant losses occur each year. 
Challenges for their utilisation include their short shelf-life, large size, and sticky inside.
The major jackfruit growing areas in Uganda are in the districts of Jinja, Kamuli, Kayunga, Luweero, Mubende, Luuka and Mityana.
Jackfruit is widely grown on a subsistence scale mainly for household consumption and to a small extent, the flakes are dried into chips or fermented into jackfruit wine. Farmers on average own between two to seven jackfruit trees on their farmland. Most of the jackfruit trees were purposely planted, others were inherited, while some percentage grew on their own.

Jackfruit trees yield between 20-120 fruits per tree per season with an average weight of 11 kilogrammes per fruit.
The main categories of jackfruit are based on the flake colour (white, orange and yellow) and texture (hard or soft).
There are two peak harvesting periods, namely March - April and November – December, with more harvest made in the latter period.
Most of the harvest is for home consumption, while some is sold in local markets, and others feed it to animals with the smallest percentage processed into dried chips or wine.
Mostly,  jackfruit flakes are mainly consumed fresh with the inedible fruit portions wasted or fed to animals. Farmers with jackfruit trees reported losses of up to 20 percent during peak harvest season.

It is estimated that up to 65 percent of jackfruit is inedible. A study by Makerere University School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering notes in part that jackfruit waste can be processed into pectin for use in food processing. It is therefore necessary that alternative approaches for utilisation of jackfruit be evaluated to ensure its full realisation of the economic potential.

Nutritious
The high insoluble fibre content in jackfruit supports good digestion. Dried jackfruit is also low in glucose and cholesterol, which means that it makes a healthy snack for those with diabetes or heart conditions. Jackfruit is also packed with protein, which can help prevent blood sugar levels from spiking after eating a meal making it a good choice for people with conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
Research shows that jackfruit contains many carotenoids such as Beta carotene, which is an important antioxidant.  Carotenoids can be important for the prevention of various chronic degenerative diseases, such as cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration.
 
Jackfruit also contains a good amount of dietary fibre, a fundamental component for the proper functioning of the digestive system.  Some of the benefits of fibre consumption are to lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce constipation problems, avoid the risk of obesity, colon and rectal cancer, hiatal hernia, haemorrhoids and appendicitis, among others.
On the other hand, the seeds, due to their characteristics, have been used in traditional medicine as a natural aphrodisiac as they are a source of nutrients such as potassium, calcium and iron. It is considered a complete protein source.
In addition to all this, jackfruit contains all the nine essential amino acids including lysine, which is not very abundant in vegan protein sources.  Plant-based proteins offer to be lower in calories and saturated fat are easier to digest and are free of antibiotics and harmful bacteria.

Sustainability
Working with smallholder farmers, local processors, Fiber Foods based in Bugoloobi, buy the desired jackfruit at Shs1,500 during times of plenty but can go up to Shs2,000 in off season. These are fruits harvested at about 40-60 days old.
The quality of the jackfruit they process starts with the weight. The weight ranges from 1.6-3kg and this depends on the final product to be processed. On the internal quality, they focus on a fruit that has not yet fully developed seeds. They also prefer fruits with a longitudinal shape to help in proper cutting. Irregular shapes, Isaac Gomushabe, the quality control personnel at Fiber Foods says, normally affect the internal quality.
In a way this helps increase the farmers’ incomes. He explains that it requires hundreds of trees to obtain the desired quantities.
“This in turn helps a lot in improving air quality by generating oxygen. Another advantage of fruit trees is that they absorb carbon dioxide, which is important in limiting greenhouse gases that causes global warming,” Gomushabe says.

Fiber Foods is an offspring of Business Lab Uganda, an accelerator programme developed with the Netherlands Embassy in Kampala from 2019-2023.
Fiber Foods offers food companies in the Netherlands dehydrated jackfruit as a perfect ingredient for a plant-based meal as they aim at reducing meat consumption and the related carbon footprint.
Using dehydrated jackfruit reduces the transportation footprint by 80 percent as opposed to shipping whole fruits or canned jackfruit.
Gomushabe says that using jackfruit as an ingredient in plant-based or hybrid food products accelerates the transition towards less meat and a more sustainable food system.
He says that the world of food is transitioning towards less meat and more plant-based alternatives. Jackfruit has a solid meaty bite and absorbs flavours and spices perfectly, thereby ‘imitating’ meat beyond recognition.

“In Uganda, there is still a negligible market. We need to create more awareness. Like the case was with bottled water, I know many people will embrace dried fruits in the future because they are convenient,” he says. Their impact transcends climate changes as they work with more than 1,000 smallholder farmers in rural communities which are able to earn a stable living wage.
Innovation
Jackfruit meat is dehydrated in a state before its maturity, and this is why its flavour is neutral and can be added to any stew without altering the flavour. 
Although Gomushabe could not divulge in much detail, he says the fruits are dehydrated at low temperatures to preserve all its nutrients.
“The process is completely natural free of additives or chemicals and without any type of preservative which helps to preserve the nutrients and unique flavour of our jackfruit,” Gomushabe says.

From tree to plate
According to other processors, jackfruit after harvest is checked for the quality of the fruit as well as the ripeness.
The preferred jackfruits are those that are immature and still white because it has no flavour of its own. According to Gomushabe, the young fruits are peeled, sliced into pieces, cooked and dried at their regional processing hubs in Kayunga, Namanve, Kampala and Nakuru in Kenya where quality assessment is done to ensure the right quality.
To keep the delicious and varied flavours of jackfruit, it is dried using modern technology.
The jackfruit meat is put into the drying chamber under sublimation under vacuum, so that the dried jackfruit product retains its natural colour. Dried jackfruit fibre is mostly exported to the Netherlands, where food companies make ready-to-eat vegan products like plant-based meatballs and burgers. They partner with such companies as Pennings, Perfect Serve, RootZZ of Nature, Le Frique and Howie Roll.
According to Gomushabe, different products will require different shapes and sizes of jackfruit.
Their company makes different varieties and sizes: in diced, chunks, shredded, fines or powder.

The diced jackfruit is ideal as meat or fish replacer in salads and fish applications while chunks are used in sauces and stews. The shredded jackfruit is regarded as a substitute for meat in burgers, meatballs, sausages or as a filler in meat hybrid products. Fines create structure in dough and especially when used in combination with shredded while the powdered products bind together the ingredients.
According to online shop ebay, a kilo of dehydrated jackfruit is listed for $82 (about Shs290,000). But locally, 250g sold by Jakana Foods is at Shs16,000.
The European market for dried tropical fruit is stable growing at 5-6 percent in volume annually, driven by demand for healthier snacking options. This growth trajectory provides opportunities for value addition.
In March 2020, the Dutch embassy in Uganda launched an accelerator programme aimed at linking fruit farmers with export markets in Europe. The focus of this project is to train local farmers on how to add value to their produce, specifically jackfruit.

What you need to know 
l The jackfruit has a distinctive, sweet and fruity aroma. There are two varieties; soft flesh and firm flesh. They are a dietary source of potassium, iron, magnesium and calcium.
l Complete germination is achieved within 35-40 days. Alternatively, seedlings can be raised in pots and after one or two years, planted in the field.
l Three to seven days after harvesting, the mature fruit ripens and begins to emit a strong, fruity, characteristic fragrance. 
l The ripe fruit is used to make jam, jelly and chutney. This is one of the ways the fruit can be preserved when there is a bumper harvest.