Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a species of trees in the Moraceae or mulberry family of plants. Since it is included in this berry family of trees, it is referred to as a fruit. ʻUlu originated from Indo-Malaysia - Melanesia and the Philippines and can now be found growing throughout the Pacific islands, Southeast Asia and parts of the Caribbean.
Polynesian voyagers such as the early settlers who came to the Hawaiian Islands transported ʻulu as part of the original list of what we here in Hawaiʻi call canoe plants. ʻUlu has been a staple food in Hawaiʻi for almost 2000 years. Spanish explorer, Mendana, first described it to the Western world when he visited the Marqueases Islands in 1595.
There are many varieties of breadfruit which are produced mostly in the summer, but in Hawaiʻi we also see a smaller winter crop. A single tree can produce 200 or more fruit per season, making it one of the most prolific food trees in the world, thus a logical candidate to help relieve hunger in many areas around the world.
Rich in gluten-free starches, breadfruit can be roasted, baked, fried or boiled before being eaten. When cooked, the taste is described as potato-like, or like fresh-baked bread, and this is how it received its name. In days of old, Hawaiians cooked ʻulu in the imu, alongside pigs, chickens, fish, taro, sweet potato, and other wrapped foods.
ʻUlu can be cooked as you would white or sweet potatoes but is richer and better than potatoes in soups and stews as it really soaks up the flavor. Some connoisseurs advise the fruit should be picked while still in the green stage since it ripens quickly; but an equal number of ʻulu fanciers claim it should be picked as a ripe or mature fruit when the florets on the skin open up and you can see the latex-like sap running down the sides.
Peeled and cored, ripe, raw ʻulu freezes well and can be stored in freezer bags for up to six months. When a recipe calls for mashed ʻulu, remember to remove the core and scoop out the pulp.
Here are some nutritional benefits to adding this beautiful fruit to your daily diet: 1 cup 220g equal 227 calories; calories from fat 4; saturated fat 0g or 1%; cholesterol 0g or 0%; total carbohydrates 60g or 20%; dietary fiber 11g or 43%; and vitamin C, 106%.
ʻUlu - also means round stone. A stone used when playing the game maika, hence the makahiki game known as ʻulu maika.