Science Based Cuisine

Jackfruit, the largest tree born fruit in cultivation, is pretty popular both in sweet and savory applications, and, fortunately, canned jackfruit is easily gotten here. Last year, for the holidays, I prepared a jackfruit and coconut ice cream. This year, I tried out a new method: a two toned cut cookie bar.


First, prepare the housing: I used a square cake pan, which I lined with parchment paper. I find this is best accomplished by laying two layers intersecting in the middle.

The cookie layer starts by creaming a stick of butter with some ratio of white and brown sugar. The more brown sugar, the softer the resulting cookie layer. I used about a cup of sugar, with about 25% brown sugar. After creaming, beat in a room temperature egg, and about 2 tablespoons of milk. Then 2 cups of flour and some shredded coconut, until it comes together into a sticky cookie dough. Chilling the dough will make it easier to work with, but just press it into the pan into an even layer.

Bake this for about 20 minutes at 175°C (350°F) , and allow to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, drain a can of jackfruit, cut across the strings, and puree in a food processor. Beat some room temperature cream cheese or neufchâtel cheese until soft, mixing in sugar (be careful as the jackfruit would be sweet already), an egg, the pureed jackfruit, and a 2-3 tablespoons of tapioca starch. Pour this over the cookie layer, and bake it in a 150° C (300° F) oven until the top layer sets. I found this took around 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the refrigerator overnight before cutting into cookie-sized slices. These bars are fairly rich.

Should go well with strong tea.

Fresh whole jackfruit at Viet Hoa, Houston, TX. How this managed to get imported is a marvel of modern transportation technology. But I wonder who buys a whole fruit at a time?

To balance out the recent discussion of micro citrus, how about we talk about something big. I mean really big. The nangka or jackfruit is the largest tree borne fruit in the world. These things are massive, weighing in as much as 80 lbs, and despite being a tropical fruit, is now readily available in fresh form here in the Houston area. That means that the versatility of the fruit, being cooked as a vegetable in the unripe form, can be showcased in local dishes. The seeds can also be roasted, and served up like nuts.

But, in a pinch, the ripe flesh around the seeds are peeled off, and can be easily purchased canned in syrup. A can of jackfruit, and a can of coconut milk made for some very flavorful ice cream recently.

The tricky thing about jackfruit is that it is very stringy. To prepare it properly, one should cut across the strings to make them manageable.

Jackfruit Coconut Ice Cream

1 can jackfruit in syrup
1 can Thai coconut milk
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar (preferably brown)

Cut across the strings of the jackfruit into thin slices, and process into a fine puree in a food processor.

Heat up coconut milk and milk in a pot.

Mix the sugar and the egg yolks until smooth - should really dissolve the sugar. Temper the eggs with the hot milk mixture, and return to the pot, cooking into a custard much like a sauce Anglaise. Stir in the jackfruit puree, mix until smooth, and sit the pot in some ice water until chilled.

Process in an ice cream machine. Serve in small scoops with gingerbread.