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Known as probably the largest tree-borne fruits in the world, a Jackfruit is oblong in shape and can grow to a diameter of about 50 cm and reach a weight of about 40 kg. This exotic fruit is widely cultivated throughout the tropical regions including India, Bangladesh, Sir Lanka and in the Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
The fruit pods (yellow flesh) of ripe jackfruits are very sweet, characterized with a rich taste and has a tropical fruit sweetness that resembles mangoes. Jackfruit is packed with nutrients and vitamins and offers a rich source of fiber. Ripe jackfruits can simply be enjoyed as fresh fruits, added to ice creams or yoghurts, canned or made into chips, etc. The unripe jackfruits are commonly used in Asian dishes and curries. Currently, unripe jackfruits are gaining attention as one of the key ingredients of plant-based meat substitutes for menus like burritos, tacos, burgers, sandwiches, etc.
Jackfruits
Fruit meat is a plant-based meat substitute made from jackfruits. Nanka Sdn. Bhd., a food tech startup company is developing the plant-based fruit meat by upcycling unripe jackfruits as key ingredients for the products. The company aims to address the environmental problems associated with the disposal of jackfruits, as well as the growing health issues caused by high-calorie foods in Southeast Asia. Sustainable Food Asia works in partnership with Nanka Sdn. Bhd. as the sole importer in Japan. Our goal is not only to connect the food tech companies in Southeast Asia with Japanese food corporations, but also to create new food standards by developing and promoting products using sustainable ingredients; and our Fruit Meat is just the beginning.
Cross section of a jackfruit
Meat patties with a 70% jackfruit blend have a lower fat content, are higher in fiber and are richer in vitamins and minerals. In addition, compared to other plant-based alt-meat products, fruit meats made from unripe jackfruits have a unique, fibrous, meat-like texture similar to beef.
Fruit pods of ripe jackfruits
We aim to reduce our food waste problems and utilize everything except the peels of the unripe jackfruits in the food processing journey.
Jackfruit is a fast growing fruit and is relatively easy to procure as a key ingredient for plant-based meat substitutes. Unlike soy alt-meat, jackfruit has no unique odor and is easy to use in cooking. The unripe jackfruit is processed without additives and it emits a natural reddish color similar to that of meat. This tasteless, odorless, fibrous meat-like texture is chewy like meat, and can be transformed into a fruit meat product. In collaboration with Cafe Company Inc., we have co-developed two low-calorie, high-fiber fruit meat menus for the first time in Japan: Fruit Meat Gapao and Fruit Meat Rillettes. These dinner menus are available at [PUBLIC HOUSE Yoyogi Uehara] Tokyo, a cafe owned and operated by Good Eat Company Inc.