Different areas of the world have their own jackfruit variety. It’s a staple fruit of many countries, including China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India. A wide variety is grown across the whole of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.
The Jackfruit can either be firm or soft. The outside of all varieties of Jackfruit looks similar, but inside the fruit, you will be able to see slight differences. It’s a uniquely exotic fruit, spiky, yellow, or green, its outward appearance might put you off, but you will be pleasantly surprised after trying one.
Different varieties of Jackfruit
Chirappuran clusterjack
This Jackfruit is a firm-fleshed and the sweetest among the various varieties of Jackfruit. The size of the fruit is small, with one fruit weighing up to 2.5kg only.
Cheena Jackfruit
It is not as large as they come, usually around 2.5kg and oblong in shape. It is a combination of Jackfruit and chempedak. It is light green with blunt spikes on its skin. Its inside is apricot-coloured, fibrous, sweet, and almost melts in your mouth.
Cochin Jackfruit
The origin of this Jackfruit is Australia. It is round, and with a weight of just 1.5 kg, it is also the smallest in size. All of its inside contents, that is, the flesh and the large seeds, are edible.
Dang Rasimi Jackfruit
With a mildly sweet flavor like a mango and a deep orange flesh weighing over 7kg. Its origin is Thailand, and it grows exceptionally fast.
Golden nugget Jackfruit
A ripe Golden Nugget Jackfruit is smooth like butter. It is yellow, round, small and weighs up to 3kg. A mediumly firm jackfruit with deep orange flesh.
Golden Pillow Jackfruit
From Thailand, it is green with blunt spikes. Sweet with crunchy flesh, it is round and large with a uniform shape. It can weigh between 3 to 6 kilograms.
Honey Gold Jackfruit
An Australian version of Jackfruit, it has a strong aromatic flavor. It comes in colors between dark yellow to orange and has a firm texture. The size is from small to medium, and it weighs between 4 to 6 kilos.
Kun Wi Chen Jackfruit
Another Thai variety, this large Jackfruit weighing between 15 to 18 kgs, is round, yellow and its texture is slightly firm to soft. With a mild and pleasant flavor, it is considered as not having a really good taste.
Lemon Gold Jackfruit
This Jackfruit is small to medium in size and weighs around 6 kg. It is yellow and has a trim texture. The Lemon Gold Jackfruit is also an Australian variety.
Black Gold Jackfruit
One more Australian variety of Jackfruits is the Black Gold Jackfruit. It weighs around 10 kilos. It is medium in size, has bright yellow skin with a dark orange soft and sweet flesh inside.
NSI Jackfruit
This Jackfruit weighing around 4 to 5 kgs is from Malaysia. They are small and blocky. With a rich sweet flavor, these Jackfruits are now also being cultivated in South America as well as Hawaii, Jamaica, Florida, and Mexico.
Chompa Gob Jackfruit
These Jackfruits are grown and cultivated in Singapore and are more blocky than round in shape. They weigh between 5 to 10 kilos and are medium in size, and the inside flesh is bright orange, firm, and sweet, with a fragrant smell.
Tabouey Jackfruit
This Indonesian version of Jackfruit is medium to large in size. The outside skin is yellowish-green, and the insides are pale yellow. It has an average weight of around 10 kilos.
Malaysian Dwarf Jackfruit
The Malaysian Dwarf Jackfruit is sweet and weighs between 15 to 20 kgs with no or little gum. It yields twice a season, Once before and once after the monsoon falls.
Hemachandra Jackfruit
It is from Bangladesh and is known as ‘poor man’s food’. These Jackfruits are neither that sweet nor juicy. They weigh around 9 kilos.
J-30 and 31 Jackfruit
These Malaysian varieties are both very similar looking. They are both dark green on the outside and have prominent spines on them. Both these varieties weigh around 9 to 10 kilos. Their flesh is fragrant and firm, and they have an earthy but pleasantly sweet flavor.
Gumless Jackfruit
Every day jackfruits have a rubbery gum-like texture in their flesh. These gumless Jackfruits have the lowest latex levels out of all jackfruits in their flesh. Their texture is slippery and wet, and they taste very sweet when ripe.
Brazil Jackfruit
This Jackfruit is not native to Brazil but is cultivated throughout the country in tropical regions. The Brazilian Jackfruit is quite large, almost 3 feet long, and weighs around 35 kilos or even more! The fruit is usually a yellowish-green color and is round and spiky in appearance.
Vietnam Super Early Jackfruit
The Vietnamese Jackfruit is an oval-shaped fruit with a greenish to yellowish thick and spiky shell. These Jackfruits are as sweet as honey, sometimes crunchy, and are usually tender. Farmers prefer growing this variety as they start yielding fruit just a year after planting.
Pathamuttam Red
India is one of the countries where the most variety of Jackfruits are grown and cultivated. The Pathamuttam Red is just one of them. It is a smaller variety weighing only about 2 to 3 kgs. When fully ripe, these Jackfruits are deliciously sweet with glowing red flesh. On the outside, their skins are thin and have spines. They are oddly shaped, neither long nor oblong, and it is said that the ugliest shapes are the tastiest!
Mijar Giant
Another Indian native, the greenish-yellow Mijar Giant, stays true to its name as they are huge and weigh around 40 kilos. As the taste is not very fine, This Jackfruit is mostly used to prepare other snacks like chips and papadums.
Final thoughts
Jackfruits are very beneficial to health; they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, which are extremely good for your body. They strengthen your immune system, fight cancer, maintain healthy skin and eyes, help reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, and also prevent anemia. They do all this while tasting amazingly sweet and juicy.
We hope this article will provide an insight into the world of Jackfruits and be of informative value.