Jackfruit vs Breadfruit, What’s The Difference?

If you are a fruit lover, and you are interested in tropical fruits, I am pretty sure that you come across two names: jackfruit and breadfruit.

Jackfruit and breadfruit are not so common, and depending on the location where you live, you might not have the possibility to find them so quickly.

Jackfruit vs Breadfruit

But if you just come across these 2 fruits, I can imagine that the difference between the two may not be so clear, for that reason, now we will take a closer look :

Jackfruit vs breadfruit, what’s the difference? Their taste dictates the main differences among the 2; jackfruit has a meaty, chicken-like taste, while the breadfruit (when uncooked) taste like freshly baked bread. Another visible differences are the outside look; jackfruit is bigger than breadfruit; they can reach up to 1 meter in length and weigh more than 30 kg.

Anyway, many other differences require a more in-depth analysis to understand all clearly, which we will see in the next part of the article.

Jackfruit vs breadfruit: Differences in shape and size

jackfruit and breadfruit

If you never saw both jackfruit and breadfruit in reality, I can imagine that they can appear the same, but that is not the case.

Jack Fruits have a bright green color, and the interior pulp has a yellow golden color with an internal brown color seed, with the exact dimension of chestnuts. While the color of the breadfruit is green, it can change to a soft yellow and is sometimes brown.

The size of jackfruit can reach huge dimensions, 1 meter in length, and weigh more than 30 kg, while the size of breadfruit can be compared to a grapefruit.

The shape of the breadfruit can be variable; in fact, you might face oval, rounded, oblong, elliptical, and irregular shapes. In some variations, there may be a more prominent spike, and its skin may be smooth or rough.

Jackfruit vs breadfruit : Differences in taste

Both jackfruit and breadfruit have a powerful smell, and if you are not usually to that smell, you will run away with high possibility.

The taste of an unripe jackfruit makes you remember meat or chicken, and opposite as you might start to think, they don’t have many proteins. 

The taste of a ripe jackfruit is sweeter, and it is more pleasurable than unripping, but anyway, it will always keep that strong smell that distinguishes this tropical fruit.

When eaten cooked, the taste of breadfruit will make you remember the taste of potatoes, and when undercooked, most people get similarities to baked bread.

Most populations that usually eat breadfruit tend to cook it, and they can be cooked in a variety of manners, boiled, fried, roasted, and backed.

Jackfruit vs breadfruit: Differences in nutrition

Jackfruit is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin B6, vitamin C, magnesium; if assumed with regularity, it can be a good nutrient for improving muscle health, digestion, and immune system health.

On the other hand, breadfruit is good in nutrients for a series of reasons as:

It helps with blood pressure control, digestive benefits, boots of energy level, and many others properties that you can check more in quietly here.

If you have some terrible experiences digesting foods, you can always integrate the breadfruit into your diet.

Breadfruit is rich in fibers, and regular consumption could improve and prevent constipation. 

If you are searching for some fruits that could boost energy, the jackfruit is the fruit for you.

The pulps inside the jackfruit contain fructose, a type of sugar, and when eaten, it will be translated into a boost of energy for our brain and muscles.

Jackfruit vs breadfruit: Differences in availability

Knowing the origin of fruit will make you understand more about the availability of a specific fruit.

Some fruits can be cultivated worldwide, but is the case for jackfruit and breadfruit? Let’s take a closer look at the origin of both.

Jackfruit origin

The jackfruit takes its origin from the mountains of western India, and it is commonly cultivated in all the southeast parts of Asia. The best environment where jackfruit grows is in a humid forest, translated to tropical climate.

Breadfruit origin

The breadfruit takes its origin from Guinea and all the archipelagos of Malay. Anyway, today, the fruit can be found in all the places that share the characteristics of the archipelagos of Malay, so warm and humid climate.

The availability of both fruits is not so high, but thanks to the different types of means that we have today, both exotic fruits can be found on the internet and in the grocery store.

The most common places you can find them are online stores like Amazon and nuts.com.

Because jackfruit and breadfruit do not grow in the United States, you have a high chance of finding them in some grocery stores specializing in selling exotic fruits.

The cost may not be the lowest of the fruits due mainly to the import costs.

Jackfruit vs breadfruit: Differences in uses

The uses of both fruits are very different, mainly because their taste is entirely different.

Breadfruit can be used differently; it will all depend on whether it is ripe. 

Unripe breadfruit tastes like potatoes, and in the Asian culture is mainly used to enrich the dishes and as a substitute for it.

Complete different solutions when the breadfruit rich ripeness. 

Ripe breadfruit has a sweet taste, and it is used mainly for desserts. 

Depending on the country, the breadfruits may be used and cooked differently. In Hawaii, for example, one of the most famous dishes prepared with breadfruit is done by mashing it and then baking it in an oven.

After baking it, African countries cut the breadfruit into slices and served it with salt and pepper.

Regarding the use of jackfruits, the modality on which they will be served will depend upon the state of the fruits. If ripe or unripe.

Unripe jackfruit is usually boiled in saltwater and served as a vegetable substitute. In that case, they are pretty much similar to the breadfruits. Anyway, it is also common to see slices of jackfruit pickled in the same places of the world.

Ripe jackfruit has mentioned early  has a strong odor, mainly due to the presence of the Capron acid, whether eaten raw or cooked.

The jackfruit’s pulp can also produce a liquor by fermenting it and then distilling it.

Jackfruit vs breadfruit: Differences in cost

As mentioned already in the above part of the article, it is not easy to find both tropical fruits in the United States.

Anyway, many other methods may be utilized to purchase them.

The best solution for someone that has never tried these tropical fruits is to find some grocery store that sells them fresh and ask if possible to taste a slice of them.

This is because the cost of jackfruit is around $100 for 8 lbs of the whole fruit.

While the cost for breadfruit is around 40$ to $70 per 8 lbs.

As you might notice, it is not an inexpensive operation, and trying these new exotic fruits may cost you a lot of money.

Final thoughts

Both jackfruit and breadfruit share unique tastes that can not be found in ordinary fruits. At first glance, the differences between jackfruits and breadfruits may not be so evident, but a close look at both of them makes many differences arise. If you are the type of person that likes to try new flavors, jackfruit and breadfruit must be added to your list.