Jackfruit is a very tasty fruit in Bangladesh.

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Jackfruit is the largest fruit in the world. The Indian subcontinent, especially Bangladesh and its adjoining areas, is considered to be the place of origin of jackfruit. It is a very primitive fruit of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Significant amounts of jackfruit are also cultivated in Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Jackfruit is found in Uganda and Tanzania in East Africa and in Jamaica in the whole of Brazil and the Caribbean. Jackfruit is found all over Bangladesh. It is more common in reddish soils and highlands. However, Madhupur and Bhawal average and hilly areas are the most cultivated. At present, jackfruit is being cultivated in 6,295 hectares of land in Bangladesh and the total production is 16,051,549 tons. India is the top producer of jackfruit in the world, followed by Bangladesh.
Nutrition and benefits of jackfruit
Jackfruit is rich in nutrients. It contains a variety of nutrients including thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, iron, sodium, zinc and niacin. On the other hand, jackfruit is rich in meat, sugar and vitamins, which are especially beneficial for the human body.
The amount of fat in jackfruit is very low. The risk of weight gain is less due to eating this fruit.
Jackfruit is an excellent source of potassium. The amount of potassium in 100 grams of jackfruit is 303 mg. Potassium helps reduce high blood pressure.
Ripe jackfruit has a lot of vitamin ‘A’, which prevents night blindness.
One of the benefits of jackfruit is vitamin C. Vitamin C strengthens the gums as well as enhances immunity.
The existing isoflavones, antioxidants and phytonutrients in jackfruit are able to prevent ulcers, cancer, hypertension and aging.
Jackfruit contains a large amount of the mineral manganese, which helps control the amount of sugar in the blood.
Vitamin B6 present in jackfruit reduces the risk of heart disease and iron eliminates anemia in the body. After the age of six months, feeding jackfruit juice along with mother's milk suppresses the child's appetite and on the other hand fills the deficiency of essential vitamins. Health is normal when pregnant women eat jackfruit and fetal growth is normal. The amount of milk increases when the lactating mother eats fresh ripe jackfruit. This fruit relieves constipation due to its bitterness.
Cultural Significance: Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh. The main reason for this is the easy availability or availability of jackfruit all over the country. The importance of jackfruit to the working people of the village is immense. No other fruit has so many nutrients like jackfruit. Moreover, since the price of jackfruit is lower than other fruits, poor people can eat it. That is why jackfruit is called the fruit of the poor. That is why there is a common saying in rural Bengal, 'Jackfruit and turnip, a pair that doesn't happen' Again, the proverb ripe in Ichar comes from the ripening of immature jackfruit. In rural Bengal, the practice of eating ripe jackfruit or ripe jackfruit or cooked jackfruit with panta, milk, chinra or khai still exists today. Apart from mango and banana, jackfruit is one of the three fruits produced in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Due to its high sugar or carbohydrate content, jackfruit is well-known in Sri Lanka as the fruit of the tree (Jarpab Ritwab) or the fruit of the poor. In Nepal, some Hindu families serve raw green jackfruit instead of meat at weddings.
Botanical Characteristics, Varieties and Cultivation: The species of jackfruit cultivated in our country are Atarpadhatdhrang Yabbattradhyushasang. Considering the characteristics of jackfruit leaves, it has been named as barley. Jackfruit is the largest fruit in the world. Sometimes 30835 kg, even 40 kg weight of jackfruit is found. Jackfruit is a compound fruit (gansahradhasab bhatrah) i.e. it is a combination of many flowers. Fruiting starts 6-7 years after planting, but 16-year-old trees bear the most fruit. Flowers usually come between December and March. As a companion plant, the same tree bears male flowers (slender and slender) and female flowers (thick, short and ring-shaped at the base) separately. Usually the female flowers on the main and main branches and the male flowers on the top of the branches. After the pollination, many people are confused that all the jackfruits are falling again when they see male shoots lying on the tree floor. A jackfruit has many cells or koya or roya, these are actually individual fruits. There is a thin ribbon-like chita or chaki around the cell. These chita and khosa together are called bhuti or bhutro or chhibra. There are small and big thorns on the husk and the number of thorns is the same as the number of flowers. Fruits ripen from March to October depending on the place and variety. The Germplasm Center of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh has so far collected 91 germplasms from different parts of Bangladesh.
Besides, the Horticultural Research Center of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute has so far released three high yielding varieties namely Bari Jackfruit-1, Bari Jackfruit-2 and Bari Jackfruit-3. The last variety bears fruit in the off-season i.e. October-May. There is a very popular variety called Hazari jackfruit, which bears many small fruits. Varieties cultivated in Bangladesh are divided into three parts viz. Khwaja or Chaula (Cells are large in size, pale yellow, less juicy after ripening, relatively hard or crunchy, juice does not come out easily when chipped, jackfruit remains green even after ripening), 2. Gila or rasa or raskhaja ​​(cells are very soft, sweet, juicy, taste sour-sweet, relatively small koya and a little reddish-yellowish after ripening of jackfruit) and 3. Dorsa (characteristic between Khwaja and Gila jackfruit). It takes 4-5 months for the fruit to mature. When raw fruit is hit with a stick, there is a thumping sound and when ripe fruit is hit, it is dab dab sound. In Bangladesh, each tree bears an average of 25-200 jackfruits and each fruit weighs 3-25 kg. Jackfruit can be stored at 11-12 সেল C and 75-90% relative humidity for 3-6 weeks.
Multidimensional use of jackfruit: Jackfruit tree is called polynomial use plant (Gansahradhantramba Ritbab). It provides food, wood, fuel, cattle feed, medicines and industrial materials. Jackfruit can be eaten both raw and ripe. From spring to summer, raw jackfruit can be eaten as kanda or echo vegetable. Ripe fruit is quite nutritious, but its smell is not so appealing to many. However, many people prefer it for its soft taste and low price. Jackfruit seeds are cooked with curry or eaten as burnt nuts. One of the advantages of this is that the seed can be left at home for many days. Ripe fruit cells are eaten by humans and animals. By extracting the juice from these cells, it can be dried and made into ‘jackfruit’ like amastva. The husks and husks that remain after eating the cells are a good food for cattle. If the sticky part with the stem of ripe fruit is hung on the scaffolding of pumpkin vegetables, the fruit fly can play an effective role in controlling the insects. Bhuti or chabra contains sufficient amount of pectin to make jelly. It is even known to extract raw honey from shells or pulps. The leaves of the jackfruit tree are a fun food for cattle. The use of jackfruit leaves in making leaf cakes is very common. Valuable furniture is made from golden yellow logs, which are resistant to fleas and fungus-bacteria. Fertilizer is used in wood powder or piece paint industry. The sticky streaks of jackfruit fruits and trees are used to close holes in wood or various pots.
Variety of jackfruit food: The primary economic importance of jackfruit is its fruit which is used both raw and ripe. In its raw (green) state it is compared to the texture of chicken. As a result, raw jackfruit meat is a good alternative for vegetarians. In fact, raw jackfruit is known in the world market as vegetable meat or thabambadhansab sabdhah. Pickles or vegetables can be made from a very small amount of fruit that has not formed cells and nodules. In this case male shoemaker can also be used after pollination. When cooked well with spices, it tastes like chicken. It is very useful for cooking with different vegetables when cells and nodules start forming. When the cells and seeds are full, that is, the ripe fruit can be cooked with chips or other vegetables. Ripe fruit cells are eaten directly. Candy, flax, chocolate, papad, ice, cake, ice cream, jam-jelly, haluya and many other foods can be made from the pulp of ripe fruit. Jackfruit seeds are very nutritious. It is most common to eat dried or sun-dried almonds or cashew nuts. Delicious food is made with jackfruit seeds in mixed vegetable cooking. Boiled jackfruit paste is a very tasty food. Flour made from jackfruit kernels can be used as an alternative to wheat flour as it is rich in high protein and carbohydrates and has the ability to absorb water and oil.
Commercial potential: Currently, many countries in the world including Vietnam, Sri Lanka, China, Brazil, raw jackfruit fresh cut vegetables (suitable for direct cooking), dried jackfruit, frozen jackfruit cells or canned can be supplied to local markets or super shops in Japan, Korea, UAE, Export trade is expanding to various countries including Europe-America. Various countries including Vietnam and Sri Lanka have developed jackfruit processing industries. As a result, year-round processed food from jackfruit is available in dried form or in cans. Although ripe jackfruits are exported from our country in limited quantities, no initiative has been taken to export them as fresh cut vegetables or canned in the local market or abroad. Currently, the post-harvest management and processing situation is very poor. The lion's share of our jackfruit production is wasted due to lack of post-harvest management. Although there are no accurate statistics, it is estimated that about 80 percent of fruit is lost during the dry season. Entrepreneurs at the private level, along with government patronage in this huge potential sector, will be able to make an outstanding contribution to national prosperity. At the rural level, there will be opportunities for job creation, especially for women.