Bread Tree
The bread tree is a tropical plant widespread in India, South-East Asia and in some islands of the Pacific Ocean (Leeward and Windward); currently, it also finds space in some Caribbean islands, as well as in Africa.
The bread tree is closely related to Jackfrut and Breadnut, better known as Artocarpus heterophyllus and Artocapus camansi .
The bread tree is famous for its characteristic of producing good-sized edible fruits, which, after cooking, acquire the typical smell and taste of fresh bread or cooked potatoes (depending on the processing). This food is also known as breadfruit .
It is a tree that can reach 10-20m in height; the leaves are large, shiny, bright green, leathery and deeply engraved. It produces unisexual flowers that sprout from different branches, which give rise to globose-shaped fruits. It grows luxuriantly in the lowlands, below 650m of altitude; however, some specimens survive even up to 1550m. The most suitable precipitation level is 1, 500-3, 000mm of rain per year and the pH of the soil must be neutral-alkaline. Sandy, loamy or mixed clay soils are suitable; the plant does not give up even on coral sand.
The bread tree is one of the highest yielding plants of the edible part and produces up to 200 or more fruits per season. The resulting wood is resistant to parasites (such as termites), is very light and lends itself to the construction of boats. Sawdust is used for the paper industry, while latex is used to trap birds.
It seems that the ancient Polynesians found this tree in New Guinea well 3500 years ago and that they are themselves responsible for its spread in most of the areas currently affected by its cultivation.
fruits
The fruits of the breadfruit are spherical or oval, as big as grapefruit or at most like our melons (diameter 10-20cm); of green color and superficially wrinkled to the touch, they make use of a rather coriaceous rind. They are typically divided into many achenes, each surrounded by a fleshy receptacle.
The fruits of the breadfruit tree have a white pulp (cooked), white in color and powdery (as it is rich in starch); also the seeds (now present only in wild cultivars) are edible after roasting. The breadfruit fruit can be eaten fresh or dried, fried, roasted, boiled or baked. It boasts a rather significant energy supply, mainly provided by complex carbohydrates; left to ripen completely, this fruit becomes very sweet, due to the conversion of starch into simple carbohydrates.
The fruits of the breadfruit tree are a staple food for many tropical populations. The plant produces fruit almost all year round, but in the low season (and in the coldest areas) it is not sufficient to satisfy the primary needs of the less well off. In these areas, for the poor population, the conservation of fresh fruit is particularly problematic (due to the absence of food technologies). Therefore, in an attempt to prolong its shelf-life, some use to dig pits in the ground, inside which, wrapped in leaves, the peeled and washed fruits are left to ferment (names: mahr, ma, masi, furo bwiru, etc.). ).
Among the various applications of the breadfruit fruit, we also find semi-finished products. One of these is a mixed fermented with the addition of coconut milk, all cooked in banana leaves. Another is the fruit cut in half, partially emptied and filled with various fillings (sweet and savory). A paté of this product can also replace the traditional then Hawaiian (taro root purée). Also famous is the Puerto Rican dish made from the fruit of the boiled bread tree, cod, oil and onion.
The chemical composition of the bread tree is characterized by 25% of carbohydrates, 70% of water and the rest almost entirely from protein and fiber; the energy supply is just over 100kcal / 100g. It has an average amount of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), small concentrations of vit. B1 (thiamine) and good levels of mineral salts such as zinc and potassium.
Flour
Sources:
- Research Gate
- Mulecular Nutrition and Food Reserch
From the fruit of the bread tree (in particular from the pulp) a flour is also extracted. This product is not only obtained from fresh fruit, but also from the fermented one, although still experimental. Obviously, in both cases, before grinding (in a hammer mill) the fruit must be dried.
Breadfruit flour is a good source of carbohydrates, potassium (almost 700mg / 100g) and fiber. It has a mediocre protein content but with a biological value of 55.1%, which is the same as soy flour and egg flour (well above that of dried fruit). The most common amino acids are valine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid, while the limiting one is methionine with cystine.
Being quite caloric, it could be successfully used to support the energy needs of less well-off consumers in tropical areas. The high carbohydrate content makes it a potential food-base, which could be used in the fight against hunger and to guarantee overall food safety. Moreover, the high content of fiber and potassium, and the good biological protein value, make the bread tree flour a very useful product to improve the content of the various flours with a low content of these nutritional elements (eg cassava flour) .
The use of fermentation is NOT particularly useful for optimizing the nutritional content of the flour, with a small exception for lipids. We are witnessing an increase in proteins (from 3.80 to 4.43%) and total ashes (from 2.37 to 2.38%), even if the percentages are almost negligible. Furthermore, there is also a reduction in dietary fiber (from 3.12 to 3.0%), carbohydrates (from 79.24 to 76.71%) and minerals: calcium, iron, potassium, sodium and phosphorus; magnesium does not undergo substantial changes.
