Introduction: How to Cut Open a Jackfruit

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About: I like to make things more simple with easily available resources. My favorite quote: A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a…

Cutting open a Jackfruit, the largest fruit in the world, is the toughest job comparing to any other fruit in existence. It is heavy, the edible bulbs are covered with a thick outer perianth and what is more the sticky sap in the fruit makes everything messy.

This instructable will show you the easiest way to cut open a Jackfruit and extract the tasty yellowish bulbs.

Step 1: Harvest the Fruit and Leave It to Ripe

The Jackfruit is ready to be harvested when the color of the fruit started to turn yellowish from green. Cut the fruit from the tree, taking care not to get the oozing sap on you. Also, the fruit is very heavy, so get get injured while harvesting the fruit.

The fruit is not ready to cut immediately after harvesting. you may have to allow few more days for the fruit to fully ripen. Make a light cut near the point where the fruit was attached to the tree More sap will ooze out from there. Keep the fruit on an old news paper or a sack to prevent the floor getting messy with the sap.

The fruit ripens within a week and emits a pleasant smell. The fruit also becomes soft to touch. It is time to cut the fruit and extract the bulbs. Do not allow it to over-ripen.

Step 2: Cut the Fruit Into Halves

  • Make a wedge of about 3/4" thick and 12" long from a branch of a hard wood tree. Make one end pointed. Here I have made the wedge from a Guava tree.
  • Drive about 9" of the wedge through the peduncle point into the fruit. This will make a light crack on the fruit.
  • Make a thin cut along the fruit from the cracked point on both sides of the wedge
  • Put one hand on the wedge and the other on the opposite end on the fruit and pull apart. If you find it hard to pull, make more cuts along the crack
  • The Jackfruit will split open into two halves. it is so easy...

Step 3: Apply Oil on Hands and Knife

The inside of the fruit still contains lot of sticky sap. Apply lightly any cooking oil on your hands and the knife. You need to do this frequently to prevent sap from sticking to your hands and on the knife.

Remove few bulbs exposed during cutting the fruit into half.

Step 4: Expose the Bulbs

You need to further split the fruit into quarters. It is very simple. Lightly cut one half along the central axis and pull both ends with hands. Do this to the other half also.

Now you can very easily cut and remove the top inedible axis covering the bulbs.

Loosen the bulbs from the fibrous layers covering each bulb

Step 5: Extract Bulbs and Remove Seeds

Using your oiled knife and hands separate each bulb and remove from the fruit

Make a light cut along the bulbs. this will expose the seeds

Remove the seeds and store the bulbs separately.

Step 6: What to Do With the Remains...?

Cattle like to eat the remains. Otherwise you can compost the remains and apply in your kitchen garden.

In my case i have chopped up the remains, pulverized and added to our Biogas Plant.

The seeds can be used to make many dishes at home.