Since we’ve started to examine the benefits of plant-based diets, one of the more recent fruits to gain popularity is none other than the jackfruit. National Geographic asks, “is jackfruit the next big meat substitute?”

The answer is, and has always been, yes! But, before we get into why it can substitute meat, we’ll give you a quick rundown on what jackfruit is and what it’s good for.

First, jackfruit is one of the largest fruits on the planet. According to the Oxford Companion to Food, the jackfruit is “enormous, occasionally reaching 40 kg (90 lb) in weight, which makes it the largest of tree-borne fruits.”

JSTOR Daily reported that one fourteenth-century traveler compared jackfruit’s size to “that of a lamb and a three-year-old child.” According to the leading nineteenth-century botanical publication, Curtis’ Botanical Magazine, “the unripe fruit is also used pickled, or cut into slices and boiled, or fried in Palm oil.”

JSTOR Daily reported that several parts of the jack tree, including fruits, leaves, and barks, have been broadly used in traditional medicine due to their anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, and hypoglycemic benefits.

Jackfruits have two completely different phases, which result in different tastes. When the fruit is ripe, it offers a sweet and powerful smell paired with a tasty, tropical, and pineapple-like flavor. 

On the other hand, when it’s unripe, it has a similar taste to starchy vegetables like potatoes, giving the individual more leeway to add whatever flavors or spices they desire. Many will shred the jackfruit to give it the effect of shredded meat for tacos, pulled pork sandwiches, and vegetarian curries.

However, purchasing a whole and large jackfruit means that you’ll have to do some serious slicing and cutting to get the individual pods. The pods are the edible “meat” replacements, but the seeds inside the pods are also edible when cooked. If you’re not ready to prepare and cut a whole jackfruit, simply head over to your grocery store or local Asian market and purchase canned green jackfruit, which you will then drain and use as a meat substitute.

The “meat” or fruit can be easily shredded in your hands and can be simmered in a sauce, added to a slow cooker recipe, or sautéd with spices. Although jackfruit does not need to be cooked to eat, it’s encouraged to sauté or simmer it in sauces and spices to get that savory meat-like experience.