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What is Ackee?
Ackee may be one of the oddest fruits in the world. Originating in Africa,
where it bears the name Akye fufo, was brought to Jamaica in the 1700s
by Captain Blighia, and is today one of the main ingredients in the Jamaican national dish,
"Ackee and Salt Fish".
Ackee grows on small, evergreen trees. It is slightly pear-shaped with bright red color when mature.
It looks very strange and just describing it is actually pretty difficult. When it is fit the skin
splits open to reveal four pieces of yellowish fruit-meat which bear a big black seed and a little
red coating. If eaten before its fit can cause ' sickness'. While the fruit matures, it has
very high contents of the amino acids hypoglycin A and B, which in some instances have been
fatal when eaten un fit. As soon as the fruit opens up, however, the amino acid very quickly
disappears, and the fruit is ready to be eaten. Its taste is also a bit difficult to describe,
and while it has a sort of slight egg-flavor and resembles scrambled eggs when cooked together
with salt fish ( salted cod fish),fresh ackee doesn't keep well and should be eaten in a couple
of days after purchase, at the latest. You may also find it canned which is approved by USDA a very
selected few companies have attained these license from the USDA to ensure safety, which is often
exported to parts of the world other than Jamaica, especially places with a rather large Jamaican
population such as United States, Canada and London.
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Chef Lester Anderson and O’Neil Williams
Creator of JMK Recipes and Menus
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