Last Updated on January 12, 2022 by Babita
Preserve jackfruit rind? Why would anyone need to do that? Well, in Mangalore, this is a common practice. It is a way to extend the life of jackfruit and use every part of the fruit for different purposes.
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About Jackfruit
Jackfruit grows abundantly in Mangalore due to its tropical climate. Except for the skin, every part of Jackfruit is edible. The pointy/scaly skin of jackfruit is the only part that is not edible. Even though the skin is not edible it is not thrown away. It is either fed to the cattle or decomposed to use as fertilizer. You can see more about my jackfruit post here (read more).
Where Can I find Jackfruit in New Jersey
In New Jersey you can find jackfruit in couple of places. You can find cut up slices of ripe jackfruit in Indian stores and farmer’s market. Whole ripe jackfruit can be found in Hmart in Edison. I also heard that you can find whole ripe jackfruit in Whole Foods. So if are looking for whole jackfruit make sure to check these store from June onwards.
Is Jackfruit Rind Edible?
Yes, the rind of the jackfruit is edible. However, it has to be prepped and preserved to make it edible. It has to be preserved in saltwater for a couple of weeks.
This preserved rind can then be used in recipes. Rind of Jackfruit is known as raccha in tulu. My mom makes an awesome and lip-smacking chutney known as Raccha dha Chutney which I crave every time it rains here in NJ.
How to preserve jackfruit rind
Once the yellow bulbs (sweet fruit) are extracted, you will be leftover with the skin, rind, and rags. These were part of one whole jackfruit. I am only showing you the picture of 2 pieces here.
For the next step, you have to trim the rags. The fibrous, yellow, thin strands are known as rags of Jackfruit. These rags are edible as well. The next time I get a good quality jackfruit, I will show you recipes you can make with rags.
Once the rags have been trimmed off, it is time to cut of the green, scaly, pointy skin from the back of the rind and discard it. This pointy jackfruit skin is not edible.
I have used a serrated knife to cut off the skin from the back of the rind. As the skin tends to be tough, the serrated knife works well for this particular step. See pictures below for reference.
ORBLUE Stainless Steel Serrated Bread Slicer KnifeMercer Culinary Millennia 10-Inch Wide Bread Knife
Next, boil water in a large stockpot. Add the jackfruit rinds into the pot and allow it to boil for 5 mins. Take it off the heat, strain the rinds and set it aside to cool.
For the last step, fill up 2 qt glass jar with cold water and salt (about a cup and a 3/4 of salt). Stir the salt and water well. Add the cooled rinds and close the lid. Placed this jar in a cool dark corner of your kitchen cabinet.
After this, all you have to do is be patient. As per my mom, we have to preserve the rind in saltwater for a minimum of a month. You can also add small raw mangoes to this salted water. You can use them both to make the chutney.
It has been less than 10 days since I have preserved the rinds. I am going to wait some more time. Once it is ready, I will post the recipe for Racha dha Chutney.
I updated this post with a pic of Raccha Dha Chutney. You can see it below. Traditionally this chutney is served with ganji (rice soup) during monsoon months. You can click the link for the recipe.
Note: If you are adding the raw mangoes make sure to follow the same process as the rinds. Boil them before adding it to this preserve. Adding raw mangoes will give the chutney a bit of tang.
Also, make sure to check out my previous post on how to extract the yellow bulbs and seeds from whole ripe jackfruit
Now that you know how to preserve jackfruit rind, do you think you will try it out? Let me know in the comments. I love hearing from my readers.
how to preserve ripen Jack frt… I mean yellow one sweet one
I mean the white part of the fruit close to the skin. The Jackfruit rinds are preserved in saltwater and later used to make chutney.
Did you ever post the chutney recipe? I’m going to try preserving rinds for the first time. Also, have you ever used the rags for anything like “pulled pork” or “rag fries?”
Dani, I have posted the recipe for the chutney. You can click the links in the post above or check it out here https://www.babsprojects.com/raccha-dha-chutney-jackfruit-rind-chutney/.
Next time I find a whole ripe jackfruit, I plan to make pulled pork recipe and rag fries. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hello Chithra, To preserve the sweet, yellow bulbs simply pack them in a freezer bag and freeze them. It will stay good for at least a month.