The fruit is unusual as it is borne on the main branches and the trunks, occasionally even from surface roots of the tree. It is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, weighing from 10 to 60 or even as much as 110 pounds, and up to 36 inches long and 20 inches in diameter. The rind or exterior of the compound fruit is green or yellow when ripe and is composed of numerous hard, cone-like points attached to a thick and rubbery, pale yellow or whitish wall. The interior consists of large edible bulbs of yellow, banana-flavored flesh, massed among narrow ribbons of thin, tough undeveloped perianths and a central, pithy core. Each bulb encloses a smooth, oval, light brown starchy seed covered by a thin white membrane. The seed is ¾ to 1-½ inches long and ½ to ¾ inches thick and is white and crisp within. There may be 100 or up to 500 seeds in a single fruit. The aroma of the ripening fruit is extremely sweet, with a distinctive flavor reminiscent of banana and pineapple. Once the aroma spreads, it cannot be controlled; hence, the good old Konkani saying: “Pon’nos lipovn dovrunk zait punn tacho pormoll lipovnk zainam!” (You may be able to hide a jackfruit but you cannot hide its aroma!)
Jackfruits mature 3 to 8 months after flowering. The fruit is covered with numerous hard points, is pale green in color and changes to a yellowish-brown during ripening. Fruit is mature for harvest when the single small leaf above the stem withers and the first color change occurs. Ripening continues post-harvest and with experience is ascertained by tapping the fruit. When ripe, the fruit softens a little and the rind will give in when pushed. Jackfruits turn brown and deteriorate quickly after ripening. If a person is fat and has a round stomach, people remark: “Zala polle pon’nos kosso!” (Look at him, he has become like a jackfruit!) Sometimes, they jokingly tap his stomach and ask him: “Pon’nos pikla re?” (Is the jackfruit ripe?)
Jackfruit is a summer fruit of Goa. It ripens principally from March to June. It is one of those delicacies which once you begin to eat ends only when the stomach is full. Many people at first hesitate to eat it because of the “pank” but once they get the hang of eating it then there is no looking back; jackfruit fondness grows with familiarity. This is how the good old saying "Vokol ghore khainam mhunnon bingttanim varn bhorlelem" came to be known. Roughly translated, it means the bride pretended not to eat jackfruit and yet the pit was filled with seeds. Similarly, many people despise things when they have had too much of them or had them for too long and here again we have the Goan jackfruit-related saying: “Pott bhortuch ghore ambott!” (When your stomach is full, carpel is sour.)
There are three types of jackfruits in Goa: (1) “Rosall Pon’nos” – having a pale-brown or occasionally pale–green rind and containing small, fibrous, soft, mushy, but very sweet “ghore” (carpel;) the rind can be broken open with bare hands. Some women, when their husbands are aged, refer to them as “Rosall Pon’nos;” (2) “Capo Pon’nos” - usually having a light-green rind, occasionally brownish and containing crisp and almost crunchy “ghore” of high quality though not quite as sweet; a knife is needed to cut open the rind; and (3) “Capo-Rosall Pon’nos” - also having the same rind as that of Capo but its “ghore” is a mixture of both - neither hard nor soft but sweeter than Capo Pon’nos; also needs a knife to cut open the rind. The “char” (perianths) of the Type 3 jackfruit is quite thick and as tasty as the fruit. As children, we ate it as well.
Jackfruit trees of Type 1 mostly bear fruits at their lower trunks, whereas Types 2 and 3 bear fruits high above on the tree. To remove jackfruits from such trees, you climb up the tree with the help of a ladder, carrying with you a “baincho razu” (well rope) and a knife, place the rope on the nearest joint next to the jackfruit to be removed, prepare a noose, place it around the middle of the jackfruit to be removed and fasten it tightly. You then ask the person on the ground to tug on the rope while you cut the stem of the fruit with the knife. The person on the ground then slowly lowers the jackfruit until it reaches the ground. He then immediately places a “kotti” (coconut shell) under the stem to collect “pank.”
We have all the three types of jackfruit trees on our properties but the one in front of our house – “Capo-Rossall” is one of the best in the whole of Gaumvaddy. As children, we would feast on jackfruits on Sundays and holidays. Before you cut open a ripe jackfruit and in order to guard against the “pank,” you must do the following:
Apply coconut oil to both your palms and a little to your lips Apply oil to the knife to be used to cut the fruit Cut the jackfruit into two halves – lengthwise Cut and separate the “mav” (core) from both halves Pluck “ghore” from the “char.”
Don’t kiss your partner on the lips before you thoroughly clean them with oil and soap or else get ready to be caught in action!
To clean pank from the knife, insert it in the “chul” with fire and clean it with the help of “kato” (coconut husk.) Repeat the process until the “pank” comes off the knife and finally apply oil and clean it with a piece of cloth.
Since we had plenty of jackfruits, each of us was given half a jackfruit. If the fruit was cut widthwise, I always asked for the lower portion as it is larger in size and contains more “ghore” than the top portion with the stem. We would mostly eat jackfruit in three sessions. The first session was at around 10:00 a.m. at which time we usually ate “canji” on Sundays and holidays. The second minor session would be after lunch, and the third was in the evening after we returned from play, but if we were late to return home from play our mother would not allow us to eat “ghore” at that time. She would say: “Tinsanche ghore khal’lear ratche dont choddtele ani magir tum pottan chabta mhunnon bob martolo” (if you eat “ghore” late in the evening you will get worm disease at night and then you will yell and complain that you have a stomach ache.” As we know, children always like to do the opposite. So, we would sometimes dodge our mother, defy her instructions and eat “ghore” - the result: as soon as we had our dinner and went to bed, we would complain of stomach ache. Obviously, mother would get angry with us and say: “Hanvem tuka sanglelem ghore khainaka, torui punn tuvem khal’le; atam khuimchem vokot haddum?” (I told you not to eat “ghore” but you did; from where shall I get the medicine now?) The only medicine that she could think of in the middle of the night and which was available at home was cashew fenni. So, she would pour half a kals of fenni, give it to us and say: “He kalsik soddsodit ghontt mar, chador angar vodd ani ugich nid.” (Quickly sip the liquor from the cup, cover yourself with a bed sheet, and go to sleep.) Within less than half an hour, the stomach ache would be gone - the worms would be dealt with and we would get a good night’s sleep.
Overall, there is some resistance to the jackfruit, attributed to the belief that overindulgence in it causes digestive ailments, but it is the raw, unripe fruit that is astringent and indigestible. The ripe fruit is somewhat laxative; if eaten in excess it will cause diarrhea. Raw jackfruit seeds are indigestible due to the presence of a powerful trypsin inhibitor. This element is destroyed by boiling or baking.
Our Capo-Rosall jackfruit tree mentioned above always yielded dozens of jackfruits every year - so much so that we would send them to neighbors as gifts. Whenever we sent half a jackfruit to our neighbors, we would place a piece of paper on the inner cut side so as to prevent the flow of “pank.” Anyone who visited us during the summer would be gifted with a jackfruit; we also sold some, but all of this came to an end after the following incident.
It was March 1963. The festival of Holi usually takes place around this time of the year. As always, our jackfruit tree was full of fruits from top to bottom, including its lower trunk, and most of them were mature. Since it was a full moon night, the moon shone so brightly that one could easily recognize passers by. Just like on All Souls Day, mischievous boys from villages play pranks on neighbors on the Holi festival night by stealing their fruits like mangoes, papayas, bananas, jackfruits, etc. Knowing this, we decided to guard the fruits by keeping awake that night. We sat on the large sopo (seat made of stones) in our balcao behind a “zhodd” (a partition made of coconut leaves) and whenever we heard any footsteps we would cough or talk loudly to let them know that we were on vigil. We were able to foil at least ten attempts from 8:30 p.m. till 4.00 a.m. At around 5:00 a.m., since it was almost dawn, we dispersed and went to sleep. When we woke up at around 9:00 a.m., the best, mature jackfruits were gone – 30 in number! Obviously, while we kept vigil, the miscreants also had been keeping a watch on us. From that day till today we have not seen a bumper crop on the tree; it still bears fruits but very few. They say: “Chorteleacho hath boro assonk zai.” Roughly translated, it means that a robber’s hand must be good and/or lucky. Surely, whoever had stolen our jackfruits did not have lucky hands, which is why till today the tree does not bear as much fruit as before. It sounds strange and it is hard to believe but it is true. Believe it or not!
In the olden days, we used the “pank” to catch birds and squirrels. We would place the “pank” on a piece of broken tile, climb up a tree and keep it in a joint of the tree. We would also sometimes apply a thick layer of “pank” to one of the branches of a tree. We would then place bait on the “pank” as an attraction. Once a bird or squirrel sat on the “pank” it could not fly or move forward. As soon as we heard their cries, we would climb the tree, bring down the catch and place it in a cage. In the past, heated “pank” was employed as household cement for mending earthenware, holes in roof tiles and buckets.
When I was 11 years old, I attended a wedding in Siolim which lasted 8 days – 4 days in preparation for the wedding and 4 days after the wedding. There was a huge “Rosall” jackfruit tree behind the groom’s house, the lower trunk of which was filled with dozens of jackfruits. While we roamed the area, we noticed crows pecking at ripe jackfruits. When we approached the tree, we found out there were many ripe jackfruits. Since everyone was busy with wedding preparations, nobody had found time to get to the tree. We politely asked the “randpinni” (women cooks) to lend us a “konn’nn” (woven coconut leaf) which they did. We immediately brought down all the ripe jackfruits from the tree, placed them on the “konn’nn”, tore the rind with our bare hands and ate so much “ghore” that we had to skip lunch that day. The next day we ate less “ghore” so that we could also eat some lunch.
In the olden days, whenever there was a bumper crop of jackfruit, people made “GHOREACHIM SAT’TAM” out of jackfruit and used them as sweets during the monsoon season. The preparation process is very simple:
Open “ghore,” remove “bingttam” and tear open the “ghore” into two halves. Then cover with plenty of sugar and let them dry in the hot sun for at least for two days. When dried, put them in a container, preferably made of glass with a tight lid to prevent ants from getting to them. Dried jackfruit tastes much better during the monsoon season than in the summer. Enjoy it with a cup of hot tea! In some cases, the ripe bulbs are dried, fried in oil and salted for eating like potato chips.
Tender jackfruit leaves and young male flower clusters may be cooked and served as vegetables. Immature fruit can be boiled, fried or roasted. Many people in Goa, especially Hindus, prepare “ponnsachi bhaji” (jackfruit vegetable) of young jackfruits. The fruit is simply cut into large chunks and boiled in lightly salted water until tender, when the really delicious flesh is cut from the rind and served as a vegetable, including the seeds which, if thoroughly cooked, are mealy and agreeable. The “pank” clinging to the pot may be removed by rubbing it with oil. Nowadays, everything is available in canned form and jackfruit is not an exception, but there is no comparison to fresh jackfruit. The crisp types of jackfruit are preferred for canning.
JACKFRUIT SEEDS
“Ponnsachim bingttam” (jackfruit seeds) are edible and nutritious. They contain 38% carbohydrates, 6.6% proteins and 0.4% fats. In general, fresh seeds are considered to be high in starch, low in calcium and iron and are good sources of vitamins B1 and B2. They may be prepared in several ways. In the olden days and till today, most people in Goa just boil them in hot water or roast them in the hot coals of a dying fire. We would save the seeds in a “varn” (a special pit meant to husk paddy) or in a corner of the kitchen and make use of them at the beginning of the monsoon season. Whenever it rained heavily, we would boil “ponnsachim bingttam” and enjoy eating them with a cup of hot tea. Peeling seeds can be a tedious job, especially if they are not well-cooked; if the skin is not cracked and has not come off the seed, it makes it difficult for the thumb nail to dig into the skin. Usually, by the time one is through peeling the seeds, the skin under the thumb tends to crack due to constant use and pressure and it takes around 2-3 days for it to heal.
Jackfruit seeds are often included in curried dishes and added to meat instead of potatoes. My “ghoramaim” (paternal grandmother) used them with “sukem, dukrachem kharem mas” (dried, salted pork meat.) As a child, I would accompany my “ghoramaim” to Vagator beach during her yearly salt bath. The norm was to have three baths a day – morning, afternoon and evening – for 3 or 4 days. Every day, she would prepare “bhuti” (lunch pack) and wrap it in a cloth to carry with us. The lunch mainly consisted of a dish of “sukem, dukrachem kharem mas” which was prepared with onions, green chilies, tomatoes, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, “bindichim solam,” fresh coriander and “ponnsachim bingttam.” We carried the dish in a small “kullnnem” (a medium earthen utensil mostly used for preparing curries & meat.) Wheat chapatis were wrapped in a plantain leaf as were plain rice with green chutney and a “solavo” (dried fish strip) of either kite or shark fish fried in “murmuro” (dying fire) and treated with “khobreachea telacho” (tinge of coconut oil.) We would also carry bananas or mangoes for dessert. We would eat “kharem mas” dish at around 12:00 p.m. and rice at around 2:00 p.m. For me, it was like a yearly 3-4 day picnic. I liked the food so much, especially “kharem mas ani bingttam” soaked with gravy that I would eagerly wait for another year to come to enjoy that food. Nowadays, hardly anyone prepares dried, salted pork and people hardly make use of “bingttam” – everyone is concerned about cholesterol! I miss my “ghoramaim” and my favorite dish very much!
In some areas, jackfruit is fed to cattle. The trees are even planted in pastures so that the animals can avail themselves of the fallen fruits. Surplus jackfruit rind is considered a good live stock food. We normally gave the rind to our “zotkar” (the person who ploughed our field) and his wife always brought us freshly prepared, tasty “ponnsachi bhaji.”
JACKFRUIT TREE LEAVES
Young jackfruit tree leaves are readily eaten by cattle and other livestock and are said to be fattening. Once in a while, we would remove leaves from our trees with a “bendurlem” (pruning hook) and feed our goats, especially after they delivered young ones.
In Goa, homemade “PUD’DE” is a must at a Goan Roce function. Usually, relatives and neighbors assemble at the bride’s/groom’s house in order to prepare this sweet. It is a simple sweet made out of “patoll tandullanchem pit” (thinly ground rice), coconut and jaggery. A thick layer of “tandullanchem pit” is applied to fresh jackfruit tree leaves, the filling (grated coconut mixed with jaggery) is placed in the middle of the leaf, the leaf is then folded into a cone and sewn with pieces of “ir” (stock of palm leaf) resulting into a “Pud’do”. “Pud’de” are placed inside of a “Confro” (a large copper/brass utensil with lid) on a round plate with holes in the middle above boiling water and the lid closed. The steam inside the “confro” cooks the “pud’de.” As a prank, folks prepare at least a couple of “pud’de” with salt instead of jaggery. Whoever gets them becomes the laughing stock at the Roce function!
In the olden days, the elderly men and women used fallen leaves to prepare a “viddi vo pamparo” (a thick, cone-shaped cigar made of “panancho” [tobacco leaves.]) It was fascinating to watch them draw a stick from the fire and light the “viddi!”
People also fasten the leaves together with “ir” and make disposable “potralleo” (plates.)
JACK WOOD
Jack wood is an important timber in Goa. It changes with age from orange or yellow to brown or dark-red, is termite proof, fairly resistant to fungal and bacterial decay, seasons without difficulty, resembles mahogany and is superior to teak for furniture, construction, turnery, masts, oars, implements, brush backs and musical instruments. Its strength is 75 to 80% that of teak. Though sharp tools are needed to achieve a smooth surface, it polishes beautifully. Roots of old trees are greatly prized for carving and picture framing. Dried branches are used to produce fire by friction in some religious ceremonies.
In Goa, most indoor doors are made from jack wood and so are window frames, beds, cupboards, tables, chairs, stools, home altars, etc. Some of the best carpenters in Goa come from Salcete, and they are the ones who make various types of furniture in their home factories and sell them at “Milagres festache ferien” (Our Lady of Miracles’ feast fair) at Mapusa, or “Tin Raianchea festache ferien” (Three Kings’ feast fair) across the Mandovi river at Panaji, or “Sant Khursache festache ferien” (Holy Cross feast fair) at Calafura (Santa Cruz,) or “Spirit Santache festache ferien” (Holy Spirit’s feast fair) at Margao. It is from one of these fairs that one picks up standard home furniture, including an “olotor” (home altar) for his/her newly built house. Almost every Christian home in Goa has an “olotor” bought from one of the above fairs.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES
The ash of jackfruit leaves, burned with corn and coconut shells, is used alone or mixed with coconut oil to heal ulcers. The dried latex yields artostenone, convertible to artosterone, a compound with marked androgenic action. Mixed with vinegar, the latex promotes healing of abscesses, snakebite and glandular swellings. The root is a remedy for skin diseases and asthma. An extract of the root is taken in cases of fever and diarrhea. The bark is made into poultices. Heated leaves are placed on wounds. The wood has a sedative property; its pith is said to produce abortion.
That’s all for now from Dom’s antique shelf!
Moi-mogan, Domnic Fernandes Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA
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