Jackfruit
One of the first things that I noticed coming into Cambodia from Japan was the price of the fruit. I was no longer assaulted with the the “wow I could buy a PS3 for the price of that melon” sticker shock, because fruit prices here are more within the “I could eat for three days with less than a dollar” range. Since I love fruit, I was incredibly happy about that. And fruit here is everywhere.
Quite odd looking, the jackfruit slightly resembles what spiky alien genitalia would look like if it were to grow from a tree. If left to its own devices, the jackfruit will grow to huge proportions, eventually growing larger than a basketball.
When cracked open, the jackfruit is no less alien than it is in its virgin form. Waxy yellow bulbs are surrounded by stringy membranes that bear a striking kinetic resemblance to organic elastic. The smell isn’t exactly pleasing – it has a slight odor of garlic mixed with a sweet touch of decay. If you were going just by the smell, you’d never be quite sure if a jackfruit is fresh when you’re about to bite into it.
If you didn’t take that first bite, though, you’d be missing out on one of the weirdest and tastiest fruits in the world. Remember banana Laffy Taffy? Or runts? Jackfruit tastes exactly like those except with the consistency of nothing else I’ve ever eaten. The texture runs somewhere between non-gooey taffy and older coconut meat, and leaves behind a sticky residue on your hands that is almost impossible to wash off.
Another notable feature of the jackfruit is its incredibly weird seeds. By squeezing the bulbs, you can pop out the huge slightly-soft seeds that look like human kidneys. I tried eating these too, but they were nowhere near as delicious as the meat of the fruit. If you’re in Cambodia, make sure you pick up one of these!
