Could Breadfruit Be The Next Superfood? | HowStuffWorks

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Breadfruit, which likely stemmed from its ancestor breadnut in New Guinea, has been a main crop among Pacific islanders for millennia, Ragone says. When early explorers saw breadfruit in the Pacific Islands, they took it with them to Jamaica as a "foodstuff for slaves," Encyclopedia Britannica reports. But slaves across Jamaica were more interested in plantains; they didn't take to the fruit. It took roughly 50 years for breadfruit to make its way into Caribbean cuisine.

Its roots in Hawaii go back even further. Ancient voyaging Polynesians took the tree to present-day breadfruit haven, Hawaii. The fruit became integral to ancient Hawaiian culture and spiritual life for hundreds of years before the islands had contact with westerners. Tour Maui reports that ancient Hawaiian breadfruit groves were large enough to sustain 75,000 people. Some of Hawaii's present-day trees are the offspring of groves planted centuries ago.

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Breadfruit trees now grow across Earth's tropical belt, including in Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Ghana and Myanmar. Ragone says it's easily perishable, "softening within one to a few days after harvest," which means it's tough to find outside the tropics. But online retailers like Miami Fruit do ship it across the mainland U.S.

Breadfruit
One breadfruit tree can yield 50 to 150 fruits per year and sustain a family of four for decades. Forest and Kim Starr/Flickr/(CC BY 2.0)

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