Monday, November 29, 2010

Step by Step Photos: How to cut a Breadfruit

How to cut a breadfruit...

But first, what is a breadfruit?

If you read the St. Paul Pioneer Press restaurant section, you may have caught a recent article on unique fries in the Twin Cities where food critic Kathie Jenkins interviewed Tony and several other area chefs to talk about their non-potato fries.
Step 1. Cut off the top & bottom.

Our new breadfruit fries hit the menu this fall, but don't feel bad if you have no idea what a breadfruit is. I sure didn't. I grew up in Minnesota. I know about bread and fruit; but breadfruit? Well, I had a vague recollection of it from a trip to Puerto Rico a few years back when Tony showed me all sorts of produce I had never heard of.
Step 2. Cut off the skin in strips.

To refresh my memory, he brought one home and excitedly cut it open. "Smell this!" he said, "Doesn't it smell so refreshing? You just can't describe it!"

Step 3. Cut in half and admire the weird looking center.

Step 4. Cut lengthwise in quarters.

He was right. There really are no smells citrucy and somehow also like fresh baked bread, especially when it's cooked. It's a big round fruit that grows on trees and is starchy like a potato or plantain and slightly sweet. It's popular in the Caribbean and usually served sauteed, boiled, or baked.
Step 5. Cut out the core and all porous portions of the flesh.

The outside looks like snakeskin & the inside looks weirdly porous like bread. Cut off the skin off and porous part, slice into fries, and there you have it...breadfruit fries! Well, OK, there are a few more steps like tossing in adobo spice & deep frying & something with pumpkinseed oil & serving them with avocado dipping cream, but at least you can see how we cut fries from a breadfruit.

Step 6. Slice into 1/4" - 1/8" strips and prepare as desired.

And if you've had our new fries, then maybe you can help me describe the taste.

Our finished breadfruit fries.

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