Breadfruit

A large green fruit from a tropical tree found in India, the South Pacific, and the West Indies. The name originates in the impression that the flesh of the fruit is similar in texture to baked bread. Breadfruit most likely originated in Malaysia, although New Guinea is also a possibility. The fruit has reportedly been consumed for over 2000 years in some parts of the world. Its existence was first recorded by European explorers in the late 1500s in the Marquesas Islands (a group of 12 islands located in the South Pacific, now a part of French Polynesia). It was successfully brought to Jamaica in the West Indies two centuries later and is still cultivated there today. Other places of cultivation are Central America and parts of South America. Legend has it that the breadfruit tree made its way to Kualoa, Hawaii, many centuries ago thanks to inhabitants of the Polynesian islands, who brought it as an offering to an important Hawaiian chief. Most of the breadfruit grown in Hawaii today is the seedless variety, so it is cultivated from offshoots of roots rather than planted from seed. Breadfruit is related to the fig and the mulberry. The tree itself is lush and elegant and can grow up to 60 feet (18 m) tall. Early Hawaiians used the lightweight wood from the trunks of the trees to make drums and canoes, among other things. The green, rounded fruit is approximately 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter and weighs an average of 3 pounds (1 kg 365 g). The flowers and subsequent fruit pods grow together in a group like grapefruit.