Jackfruit, the State Fruit of Kerala has climbed its status from being just a fruit which was meant for the birds and squirrels and left to rot during the monsoon months to an International Status. Kerala has realized the potential of the fruit and has been in the process of creating value added products from Jackfruit.
The Value Added products of Jackfruit have also started gaining attention in West and are being sold in Amazon and other online sites at premium. There isn’t any other tree like Jack whose fruit, leaves and bark, have been extensively used in traditional medicine due to its anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, wound healing and hypoglycemic properties. There has been a great work among growers, organizations and individuals in the country as well as the State of Kerala as a whole in promoting the products of Jackfruit among consumers.
The Kerala State Agriculture Department is boosting procurement, trade and processing of Jackfruit which officially became the State fruit in 2018.The Rs. 75-lakh initiative is carried out through the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK) under a Rs.31.25-crore scheme earmarked in the State Budget for ‘development of fruits, flowers and medicinal plants. The project has three important components — a trading centre for jackfruit in Wayanad, a processing centre in Idukki district and the marketing of raw and processed Jackfruit.
The Jackfruit trading centre would be established at Muttil in Wayanad and four markets would be established at Sultan Batheri, Ambalavayal, Cheeral and Muttil for procuring the fruit, the department said. In Idukki district, the Jackfruit processing centre will be established at the market at Kalayanthani.
The processed produce will be marketed through supermarkets, outlets of the Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp), Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) and the VFPCK. Online trading also forms part of the plan, according to the Agriculture Department.Meanwhile The Jackfruit Development and Processing Society in Wayanad, Kerala has already collected about 63 tonnes of Jackfruit seeds this 2021, paying the highest price in the state reports the Daily Manorama.
The Jackfruit Development and Processing Society is run by 105 women members and has been procuring jackfruit seeds for 3 years. A 100-gram serving of jackfruit seeds (or 3.5 ounces) offers about 185 calories. It also contains 7 grams of protein, 38 grams of carbs, and 1.5 grams of fiber. And jackfruit seeds contain less than 1 gram of fat. The seeds are also good sources of thiamine and riboflavin. They always put in a special request for Jack fruit seeds and seeds do pour in from all parts of the State. The seeds are send by Households mostly and it is been reported that some households have received as much as 75,000 from the selling of seeds. They were already producing value added products like Cake, Cookies, Milkshake Powder and Baby foods. This start up has also got the special grant from KAU and also training from them. This Year they are also introducing a new product named 'Jack Fresh' from processed Jackfruit Seeds.
This Onam time Jack Fresh is coming up with a Payasam (Kheer) Mix made out of Jackfruit. A few spoons of Jackfruit Seed powder and some Coconut Milk along with powdered jaggery needs to be heated along for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to mingle in. Cashews and raisins to be fried in ghee and added along the payasam.
There is immense potential in this fruit and we hope the State sets up an agroprocessing centre in districts to make the value added products from the jack fruit.
