Fruit Tree of the Day: Ackee
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In honor of @mike808’s comment yesterday, here’s a tree that gives off fruit that poisonous if not ripe enough, poisonous if too ripe, and 80% of which is poisonous if perfectly ripe. Reaaaly makes you wonder how people came to like the fruit. It’s found all over Jamaica and is common in their cuisine.
I can’t describe the flavor for you, since I’ve never had it myself, but it’s supposedly really good (it better be). You can’t even try it yourself because the FDA banned importing them after a Jamaican company didn’t process them right and left the poison in the cans. If there’s a Jamaican community near you, they may grow their own ackees to use in dishes, so you may be able to find ones in a Jamaican restaurant when they’re in season.
I’m growing an ackee tree right now because I want to be able to try them. I know the right time to pick them; when they’re ripe, they look like the right-most fruit in this picture:
They actually open up to show you when they’re ripe. The only part that doesn’t have poison when ripe is the white part attached to the seed called the aril:
If it falls off the tree, it’s too ripe and more poison got back in the aril.
The tree grow really quickly in Florida’s climate. Hopefully my tree will grow big enough for me to try it soon (though I may have an antidote on me when I do, just in case ;))
My ackee tree:
More information: https://naturespoisons.com/2014/03/24/ackee-fruit-deadly-and-delicious/
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So totally off topic for today’s I’ll poison you tree, but are you going to do a Fruit of a Loom tree day? A fruit of my labors tree (aka money tree) day? You are completely fruity (aka a nut tree) day?
@Kidsandliz Eventually I’ll run out of actual fruit trees, so who knows…
@Kidsandliz @Weboh Just do them again and call the second pass “Fruit Loops”.
When I was in Jamaica I had saltfish and ackee for breakfast every chance I got. It was freaking delicious! The ackee itself had a very mild taste, I actually thought it was scrambled eggs the first time and was looking for my ackee because I was expecting fruit from the dish’s description. You might use jackfruit as a comparison, except ackee is fluffier in texture instead of kind of stringy/shredded.
The breakfast plate was saltfish and ackee, collard greens, and festival which is like fried bread (like if you made hush puppies with bread dough instead of cornmeal). I wish I could have it again without having to go to Jamaica. I am sad to learn it can’t be imported here, as I always thought I could find it in a can somewhere and make myself up a plate. I’m jealous that you’ve got a tree!
/image saltfish and ackee
They have canned ackee on Amazon, but it’s pricy.
@djslack Yeah, I read the FDA will make an exception on the ban, but they’ll have to inspect each individual shipment before it goes out, which of course adds a ton to the price.
@djslack
What did the saltfish taste like? The fruit looks like brains lol
@Star2236 it’s salted cod, which I think makes it like fish jerky for preservation. In the end it’s not super salty like anchovies or anything, but saltier than if you just had a fish fillet, and maybe a little more chew to it because I guess the salt would have dried it out before cooking put some moisture back. I think it gets rinsed well and then rehydrated through cooking.
It has kind of a non specific/neutral fish taste (isn’t cod what a lot of fish sticks are made of?). Mixed with the ackee, peppers and onions (both bell peppers and scotch bonnets) the saltiness didn’t stand out. All together it’s a nice savory dish with some crunch from the peppers, creamy fluffiness from the ackee and meaty bites of shredded fish.
I bet if you saute a fish fillet that you season liberally with salt, then some peppers and onions, flake up the fillet and mix it with very fluffy scrambled eggs that would be kind of close.
I actually took a cooking class at the resort that included saltfish and ackee. I wonder if I took any notes, because if I didn’t, winging it based on memory would probably only get me kind of close. Of course, just like learning anything, there’s always YouTube.
Jeez, you can eat this fruit alongside your fugu sushi and live dangerously.
Does it ever end up poisoning animals? I’d be scared to have this tree!
@Kyeh
I was wondering the same thing about the animals!! What does it do, how sick can you get? It “should” make you smarter since it looks kinda like a brain!
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer Usually, animals are smarter than humans are about not eating things that are poisonous. Either it’s instinct or a better sense of smell. And sometimes things that are poisonous to humans aren’t to animals.
No idea about this fruit in particular, though I imagine at least some animals can eat it. The whole point of a tree growing fruit is so that when animals eat it they’ll spread the seed in their dung. If no animal could eat it, the tree wouldn’t have developed fruit like that.
If you hate it, what will you do with the tree?
@RiotDemon Give it away. I actually got the tree for free, since I’m a member of a club that talks about how to grow exotic fruit trees. Every meeting they have a raffle for trees other people have that they don’t want. If you bring in a tree or dish to the potluck, you get a raffle ticket. I may just bring it back there and get another tree in return. Or, there’s someone at my work that’s from Jamaica, and she’ll probably appreciate it.
@Weboh that’s a pretty cool group! I’m jealous.
@RiotDemon You may have a similar one in your area. I go to the Tampa Bay chapter of Rare Fruit Council International, and I know they have several other chapters around Florida.
@Weboh there was one by me… It closed a couple of years ago.
/giphy sigh
@RiotDemon @Weboh Rarer Fruit Council International, then?
Not holding my breath for a Maryland chapter.
The manchineel tree, Hippomane mancinella, is native to Florida. Who knew Florida had so many ways of getting back, lashing out? Heck, putting it plain and simple, mother nature’s way of killing!! Who knew…?
@Lynnerizer Australia’s poisons and venoms still outnumber Florida’s 1000 to 1.:P
@Weboh
You sparked my interest! I’m amazed how many poisonous berries and things we have here in Connecticut that I didn’t even know about! Looking forward to the next one on your list, i’m intregued!
I loved this fruit, until I almost died. We were in Jamaica on vacation, it looks like scrambled eggs the way they had prepared it. About 20 minutes later my throat swole shut, couldn’t breathe, etc. Fortunately 2 benadryl probably saved my life. I was out of it for the rest of the day, but thankful that it didn’t keep getting worse! Scary few minutes.
@jeremyalyea Sounds like you’re just allergic. That doesn’t sound like normal symptoms of ackee poisoning. If there was still poison in the fruit, you’d have started vomiting and had a terrible pain (not just swelling) in your throat.
Jamaicans know how to prepare it without the poison, so you don’t really have to worry about if you’re served it in Jamaica.
@jeremyalyea @Weboh
From what I just read, a poisonous reaction would be like a diabetic having way to much sugar. Either way i’m sure it must have been scary as heck!! Glad you are here to talk about it!!