The biggest of all fruit borne on a tree is the mighty jackfruit: some fruits grow to 30kg or more, with each tree able to produce 100 to 200 fruit a year! A native to South India (Artocarpus Heterophyllus), it’s a relative to the fig, mulberry and breadfruit. This is quite an incredible fruit, known as a multiple fruit which is made up of hundreds of thousands of individual flowers - it's the fleshy petals known as 'avrils' that you eat, and the seeds.
So the question is what do you do with a 30kg fruit? There are heaps of options and ways of eating this giant of a fruit. First, when the fruit is unripe or green, it is used widely throughout Asia in curries, as the flesh has a meat-like consistency. When staying at Wildwood it is great to pop down to Mason's Café for a delicious BBQ pulled jackfruit burger.... it's a vegan’s dream! When the fruit is ripe the flavour is vaguely similar to a sweet bubblegum/mango/banana. Here at Cape Trib Exotic Fruit farm we like to dry the sweet flesh to make a healthy snack that lasts for ages. Or make a jackfruit honey that is great for baking or pancakes. The seeds can also be boiled and roasted and taste great, a bit like roasted chestnuts.
Davidson Plum
Here at Cape Trib Exotic Fruit Farm, we love to grow fruits from all over the world. But it is extra special to grow a native fruit from our part of the world: the Davidson Plum, that is also called the Ooray. There are 3 species in this genus and we grow the Davidsonia pruriens.
Having been a foraged fruit by the traditional owners of the Daintree area, the Kuku Yalanji, it is now a widely sought-after bush food that chefs from all over Australia are turning into jams, sauces, chutneys and wines. The plum itself is a rich purple/blue colour with a beautiful reddish/ pink flesh. The flavour is very sour, but that is why it works so well when made into jams etc.
These trees are native to the jungle that surrounds Wildwood and once you start to recognise the tree you will spot a few on walks through the jungle. We harvest the fruits when they have fallen on the ground as long as the cockatoos stick to their side of the bargain to not to eat them all before they are ripe!
Rollinia
It's hard to know where to start with one of our favourites at Cape Trib Exotic Fruit Farm, it's the one, the only Rollinia Deliciosa… the name says it all! The large yellow fruit has soft spines with a creamy white flesh with black seeds, and it truly is a taste sensation, with the fruit tasting of creamy lemon sherbet and lemon meringue pie.
The best way to eat it is with a spoon, or as we like to do, just dive in face first and worry about the mess later!
The large yellow fruit has a bumpy surface and soft spines. The Rollinia is in the custard-apple family, Annonaceae, that is native to tropical South America. We have 8 of these amazing trees that can grow to 15 meters and can produce fruit from seed within 3 years. Most years we will feast on Rollina over a 4 to 5 month period. The fruit is very delicate and only has a short shelf life of a week or so. Therefore to try this delectable fruit you will have to come and visit us as it does not travel well!
