Can Babies Eat Jackfruit?
Yes, from around 8 months, with the seeds removed. Jackfruit is really two foods in one: ripe, it is a sweet fragrant fruit, and unripe it cooks into something remarkably like pulled meat. Both work for babies. The reason it waits until eight months rather than six is texture, since ripe pods are firmer and more rubbery than they appear.
Jackfruit is the largest fruit that grows on a tree, sometimes reaching thirty kilos, and it has become far easier to find outside the tropics thanks to the vegan cooking world discovering what green jackfruit does when you cook it. For babies it is a perfectly good food with one clear rule attached, which is that the seeds come out first.
Ripe or unripe?
Ripe jackfruit is golden yellow, intensely fragrant and sweet, with a flavour somewhere between banana, mango and pineapple. Unripe green jackfruit is pale, firm and almost tasteless, which is exactly why it works as a meat substitute: it takes on whatever it is cooked with and shreds into strands. Tinned green jackfruit is usually in brine, so check the salt.
The latex fruit association means it shares a link with banana, avocado and kiwi, all of which are covered on their own pages.
Jackfruit nutrition
Good fibre and potassium, with a moderate natural sugar content when ripe.
| Nutrient | Per 100 g ripe |
|---|---|
| Energy | 95 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| of which sugars | 19 g |
| Fibre | 1.5 g |
| Vitamin C | 13 mg |
| Potassium | 448 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.3 mg |
Typical values for ripe jackfruit flesh. Green jackfruit is much lower in sugar. Source: USDA FoodData Central.
Serving jackfruit by age
Chop finer than you think, because ripe pods are springier than they look:
Remove every seed, chop the pods small and mash them with banana or yogurt. Cooked green jackfruit shreds finely and works well too.
Ripe pods cut into strips they can grip. Green jackfruit in a mild curry is good at this age, made without salt or chilli.
Once chewing is reliable. Cooked seeds, mashed, can come earlier, but never whole before four given their size and hardness.
The seeds hide inside the pods: each fleshy pod of jackfruit contains a large smooth seed, and they are easy to miss when you are pulling the fruit apart. Open every pod and check. The seeds are roughly the size and shape of a large olive stone, which puts them squarely in the choking hazard category.
Soft jackfruit and banana mash
Banana softens the texture and rounds out the flavour, which is quite perfumed on its own:
Soft jackfruit and banana mash
Makes 2 baby portions, from 8 monthsIngredients
- 3 pods of ripe jackfruit, seeds removed
- Half a ripe banana
- 2 tablespoons plain full fat yogurt
- A pinch of cardamom, optional
Method
- Remove every seed from the jackfruit pods and check carefully, since they hide in the flesh.
- Chop the pods finely, as ripe jackfruit is firmer and more rubbery than it looks.
- Mash with the banana until smooth, or blend for a younger baby.
- Stir through the yogurt and cardamom, and serve straight away.
Risks and safety
The seeds are the main practical issue, as above, and raw seeds should not be eaten at all since cooking is needed to break down antinutrients in them. Boiled or roasted and mashed, they are nutritious and traditional. Durian seeds are treated the same way and are never eaten raw.
On allergy, jackfruit is uncommon as a trigger but is part of latex fruit syndrome, where people allergic to natural rubber latex react to certain fruits including banana, avocado, kiwi and jackfruit. Worth flagging to your doctor if latex allergy runs in the family. Also check tinned green jackfruit, which is often packed in brine and can be salty, and note that the sticky white latex sap in an unripe fruit is difficult to remove from skin and utensils, so oil your hands and knife if preparing a whole one.
Jackfruit FAQ
Can babies eat jackfruit?
Yes, from around 8 months. Ripe jackfruit is sweet and soft, and unripe jackfruit cooks into a savoury vegetable often used as a meat substitute. Both suit babies once the seeds are removed and the flesh is cut small, since the ripe pods are firm and slightly rubbery.
Can babies eat jackfruit seeds?
Not whole, and not raw. Jackfruit seeds are large, hard and a clear choking hazard, and raw seeds contain compounds that are best destroyed by cooking. Boiled or roasted and then mashed, the seeds are actually nutritious and eaten widely, but they should never be given whole to a young child.
What is the difference between ripe and unripe jackfruit?
They behave like two different foods. Ripe jackfruit is sweet, yellow, fragrant and eaten as fruit. Unripe or green jackfruit is bland and firm, and when cooked it shreds into a texture like pulled meat, which is why it appears in vegan cooking. Neither is more or less suitable for a baby.
Is jackfruit an allergen?
Jackfruit allergy is uncommon, but there is a documented association with latex allergy, part of the latex fruit syndrome that also involves banana, avocado and kiwi. If anyone in the family has a latex allergy, mention it to your doctor before introducing jackfruit.
Sources
- Jackfruit, Wikipedia.
- Choking Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics.
- FoodData Central, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Every baby is different. Talk to your doctor, health visitor or paediatrician about your own baby, and about starting solids or any allergy concerns.
