Overview

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a starchy fruit from a flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae. It is native to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. When cooked, the flesh has a potato-like texture and a mild, slightly sweet flavor often compared to fresh-baked bread.

Origin and history

Breadfruit originated in the region of northwest New Guinea and was domesticated by the ancestors of the Polynesians around 3,500 years ago [2]. From there, it spread across the Pacific Islands through human migration and cultivation. European explorers encountered breadfruit in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the infamous 1789 mutiny on the HMS Bounty was triggered by a mission to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the Caribbean as a cheap food source for enslaved laborers [1]. Today, breadfruit is grown throughout the tropics, including parts of Central America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia.

Varieties and aliases

  • Seedless varieties are the most widely cultivated; seeded forms (sometimes called breadnut) also exist.
  • Known as ulu in Hawaiian, kulu in Fijian, rimas in Chamorro, and sukun in Indonesian and Malay.
  • No additional aliases are recorded in the current database.

Culinary uses

Breadfruit is almost always cooked before eating, as the raw fruit is starchy and astringent. It can be roasted, boiled, fried, baked, or steamed. The texture of the cooked flesh ranges from firm and potato-like when underripe to soft and custard-like when fully ripe. Common preparations include breadfruit chips, mashed breadfruit (similar to mashed potatoes), and breadfruit curry in South Asian and Caribbean cuisines. In the Pacific Islands, it is traditionally roasted in an earth oven (imu or lovo) and eaten as a staple starch alongside fish and coconut. The seeds, when present, are edible after roasting.

Cross-cuisine context

Breadfruit has no direct analogue in Mexican cuisine. Its closest functional counterpart is the potato or the yuca (cassava), both of which serve as starchy, neutral bases for savory dishes. In the context of LA’s multicultural food landscape, breadfruit is most commonly encountered in Pacific Islander and Caribbean restaurants, where it appears as a side dish or in stews. It is not a traditional ingredient in any of the platform’s primary non-Mexican cuisines (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Cambodian, Armenian, Persian, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Russian, Arabic, Peruvian), though Filipino cuisine occasionally uses breadfruit in ginataan (coconut milk stews) in the southern islands.

Notes for cooks

  • Choose breadfruit that is firm and heavy for its size. The skin should be green and slightly springy to the touch. Avoid fruit with soft spots or heavy bruising.
  • Unripe breadfruit has a sticky, latex-like sap that can be difficult to remove from knives and hands. Oil the blade or wear gloves when cutting.
  • Cooked breadfruit freezes well. Peel, cut into chunks, blanch, and freeze for later use.