Chempedak | Food, travel, recipe & sights

Chempedak

PICT1109

Question : Is there an English name for chempedak? Nangka is jackfruit so what is chempedak?

I think the chempedak is the next stinkiest fruit after the durians. Stinky but nice. You either love it or cannot tolerate it.

The chempedak is another seasonal fruit that will make its presence together with the durians, rambutans, mangosteen and langsats (hmmm, how come I haven’t seen any in the market?).

It is an ugly fruit, I would say. With sticky white saps that make it unattractive.

PICT1188

Cutting the fruit open is a chore because one can get the white sap stucked to the hands. To cut open, just slit the top of the fruit with a sharp knife, taking care not to ’stab’ too deep. Just a simple slit at the top and you can tear apart the fruit.

It reveals a middle stem and the each seed is nicely snuggled in this ‘nest’ of yellow stringy strips. The flesh of the chempedak is also very stringy.

PICT0413

The chempedak is best eaten fried, as fritters. It can be eaten fresh too.

Some people will boil the seeds with some salt and eat it too.

Some thoughts on chempedak:
1) It is not flattering when someone referred to your clothes as ‘the casing of a chempedak (sarung chempedak). You see, when the chempedak is just fruiting (?), the planters have to wrap each fruit in a casing made from the palm leaves. These casing will grow along with the fruit but towards the end, the casing will be too small. So, if someone said ’sarung chempedak’ it means that you have grown too fat for your clothes.

2) Always supervise small children when they eat chempedak. The stringy flesh is a choking hazard. So is the slippery seed.

3) To remove the sap from your hand after cutting the fruit, use cooking oil to rub. If still not removeable, smother with some talcum powder (or like I did, grab some rice and rub it off).

4) Chinese believe the chempedak will cause ‘wind’ or flatulence. Probably this fruit is too fibrous. Some people do get sick after taking chempedak. Pregnant womens and mothers who just delivered babies are usually forbid to eat, unless fried.

If you are not careful in removing the sap and accidentally ate the fruit with sap, it can make your teeth yellowish because of the sticky sap stuck to your teeth. Do you know that there are foods which can cause our teeth to become yellowish? Check out this 12 foods to avoid to make teeth whiter.

Posted by lilian on July 3rd, 2005 under Fruits

Interesting related posts you shouldn't miss


8 Responses to “Chempedak”

  1. lilian Says:
    July 3rd, 2005 at 8:19 pm

    Chempedak

    Artocarpus integer

    Small, cylindrical fruit with fairly smooth skin. Pulp has a sweet, juicy, yet creamy texture. Less fibrous and acidic than the jackfruit.

    Info source :
    http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/chempedak.htm

  2. Petit Says:
    July 4th, 2005 at 6:28 am

    Oh my God! That looks like a creature from outer space!

  3. babe_kl Says:
    July 4th, 2005 at 8:26 am

    yucks it stinks to me la kekeke i beh tahan the smell…

  4. moneyminded Says:
    July 4th, 2005 at 10:03 am

    Had chempedak fritters yesterday. So yummy. I think chempedak can also give you gas, right or not?

  5. S-Kay Says:
    July 4th, 2005 at 1:00 pm

    I ate the most horrible cempedak goreng the other day. My jaw mcm can get stuck biting it. Stupid lady dunno how to fry. I got conned into buying 10..hmpH

  6. sher Says:
    July 6th, 2005 at 9:57 pm

    I remember a professor who is a Oceanic history expert and the Polynesians would carry these with them.. Bread Fruit = cempedak!

  7. Evil Jungle Prince Says:
    July 8th, 2005 at 10:17 am

    Looks fascinating. Can you eat it with alcohol or is it forbidden, like with durian?

  8. Chempedak - Hate it or love it : Best recipes, foods and travel Says:
    August 9th, 2007 at 12:01 am

    [...] flattering photos this time so I am just going to share the photos. If you wish to read more about chempedak, please surf over to my post on chempedak in Food [...]

Recent Posts

Blogroll

Takeaway Food