Looks like Kerala was a tad too late to honour its home-grown luscious fruit. Bangladesh did it much before us in declaring chakka as its official fruit. Even Tamil Nadu was quicker than us in placing it in its official list of fruits along with mango and banana.
The jackfruit’s history
India has been widely seen as the place where the fruit first took its birth. Archaeological findings trace back the existence of the jackfruit tree in India to more than 6,000 years. The prolific presence of the tree has been recorded in places like Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Not just a fruit
The jackfruit is no mere fruit. Nor is it just a fruit. It’s a row of fruits encased within a basket. Call it a multiple fruit, which means that inside one huge covering, you could get over a 100 arils. These arils within the thorny cover mature into ripe fruits.
Several varieties
The “status” of the jackfruit depends on the nature and texture of the arils or chulas. Kerala has two varieties of the fruit – the varikka and the koozha. There are several subclasses of the fruit like the red chulayan varikka, white chulayan varikka, Singapore varikka, rudrakshi, thamarachakka, neelan thamara chakka, moovandan chakka, thenvarikka chakka, muttamvarikka chakka, vakathanam varikka, Kuttanadan varikka, pazhachakka, vellaran chakka, sindooravarikka, pashayillachakka and several others with their distinctive tastes.
A name for a fruit
The fruit has an umbilical tie with Kerala. The tree which bore the fruit had a special place in our folklore. It was seen as the ideal tree. The credit of naming the fruit jackfruit goes to Malayalam. When the Portuguese landed in Kerala, the fruit which grew in plenty all over became “jack” for them. It was thus that “jack” made its way into the epic treatise the Hortus Malabaricus. The British, who landed later got equally fascinated with the “jack” and the name stuck and it became jackfruit.
It’s also been reported that the name jackfruit was given by Garcia di Orta, a doctor in 1563.
Another fascinating story claims that jackfruit was named after the famous Scottish botanist William Jack who happened to work for the English East India Company in the then Calcutta and Malaysia.
What’s chakka for us in Kerala is ninka in Indonesia and langka in the Philippines. The botanical name of the it is Artocarpus Herterophyllus.
The health benefits
The fruit is not only a marketable wonder, but also a medicinally much sought after food. The jackfruit has no parallel when it comes to the immense nutrient value hidden in every cell of its huge structure. It gives the body its required dose of vitamins and fibre.
Coming to a split up of its nutritional value, almost 74 per cent of each aril is rich in fluid content. As much as 23 per cent carbohydrates, 2 per cent protein and 1 per cent fat. So you get energy to the equivalent of 95 kg of calorie from 100 gm of the fruit. Apart from this, the fruit is rich in vitamins like folates, niacin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A and vitamin C, elements like sodium and potassium and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and phosphorous.
The fruit is a rich repository of antioxidants with the vitamins A and C acting as the antioxidants. The potassium in the fruit is an ideal heart food. By far the best part of the fruit is the abundance of fibre found in the raw fruit which does wonders for the body. About 60 per cent of these fibres are non-soluble. As these fibres inhibit the accumulation of fat, it prevents the build-up of cholesterol in the body. It also does wonders for the large intestine as the fibres push out cancer-causing carcinogens from it. Regular use of the raw fruit is ideal for those plagued by constipation.
How good is it as a diabetes buster?
Ever since the fruit hit the headlines for its wondrous properties as also for its magical ability to cure diabetes, the often asked question is, can the raw fruit act as a cure for diabetes? It’s been proved that the raw fruit can surely inhibit the sugar content in patients. Studies conducted by the Sydney University in 2016 that jackfruit cooked and consumed in its raw form is an assured natural medicine for diabetics.
The rich dietary fibre content in jackfruits control the sudden spurt in patients’ glucose content. As the glycymix index in very low in the raw fruit, diabetics can feast on idichakka and chakka puzhukku as much as they want. The fibres not only help in digestion, but also give people a full feel and prevent pangs of hunger in patients. It also holds them back from overeating.
The antioxidants in the raw fruit holds in check diabetic-related ailments like neuropathy, retinopathy and nephropathy.
The role gets reversed when it comes to the ripe fruit. The sugar content in the ripe fruit is ten times higher than what it is in its raw form and hence it’s super high on glycymix index. The raw fruit is very low in carbohydrates. Hence, when compared to minerals, the carbohydrate content is less than 40 per cent and the calorie content too is 35-40 per cent lower than other food.
Here’s a word of caution to diabetic patients. Refrain from eating the ripe fruit, or just keep them to a few. The high content of fructose and sucorse will send the sugar content spiralling up in diabetic patients.
Medical details courtesy of:
Dr B.Padmakumar
Head, Dept of Medicine
Govt medical College
Kollam
Visit Onmanorama food for more Chakka recipes
