I was out surfing yesterday when I noticed something new on the beach while making my way back home. Cleaning the beach is not a fun task but it's part of enjoying the ocean - you gotta take care of it. And, it makes for a much nicer experience for our guests. Yes, you can imagine it's all about single-use plastic that washes up onto the beach but it is fascinating what you can find on the beach and I'm not talking about the human garbage elements.
Our beach, for the most part, is a thriving eco system. Our little bay here that we call beginner beach is fairly well isolated - flanked by two estuaries, protecting it from a lot of human exposure and contamination so it's still doing pretty well in terms of how alive it is which makes for a fascinating beach walk.
So, as I was saying, on my return home yesterday I saw this weird mass of something laying just at the edge of the high tide level so I headed over to check it out, and to my surprise I found a massive Jack Fruit that washed up on shore! My lucky day. I knew what it was right away so despite it looking like it went through a hectic surfing / beat down session like I did, it still smelled fresh so I got into the slime and started harvesting the seeds to find they were totally good to go. If you're a vegan, you may know how exciting and rare this is.
We try really hard and are proud of the food we lovingly prepare for our guests. Now having served thousands of diverse adventurers from all over the world for over 7 years, we've come across a lot of dietary preferences which we have challenged ourselves to not only meet, but exceed their expectations by serving up something like jack fruit among lots of others to share with our guests.
Jack fruit, originating from India, is an incredible fruit and actually, the largest edible fruit on the planet. Not only is it delicious, but is quite diverse in its uses too. Many consider this tasty fruit a super food because it is packed full of nutrients, and also has many health benefits.
Thankfully, because it is so big, there are many different ways to prepare it for consumption through different stages of its ripeness for totally different flavors. When it is fresh and more green, the raw pieces can be used in place of any type of meat like in...tacos!! Yay for tacos.
When ripe, the yellow flesh surrounding the seeds becomes sweet and tastes unlike anything I have ever had before. It is juicy, fibrous, dense, and has the flavor of a cross between a banana, pear, apple, and a hint of my fave - the mango. When the flesh is ripe like this, we use it in our desserts and baked goods but it's the seeds that we're really after.
Those seeds are chock full of nutrients and when sautéed up like you see in this photo, they are damn good to eat. I guess if I had anything to compare the seeds too when cooked, they would be like a chestnut, like a bread nut, like delicious.
So now, I have an entire bowl full of seeds to prep for your next taco order. And, I am saving some seeds to sprout to grow more trees for your following visit because man, you can't just go to the store and pick up a bag of jack fruit seeds. You gotta visit somewhere exotic like...yours truly! Oh hey, speaking of which, June is coming up (I know, big surprise) but, that's the best month to be here so, we hope to see you soon.
Your Friends in Morrillo,
Cari and Ryan Mackey
Princessa, Beezi, Congo, Flora, Fauna, Soldier, and our entire team too,
Owners and Hosts
Morrillo Beach Eco Resort
Sea Turtle Conservation Tip: That side note about single use plastic at the beginning? Next time you have the choice to use it or deny it, let your super hero light shine and take a hard pass. The turtles thank you.
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