Breadfruit VS Jackfruit: What's the difference?

I talk about the differences between Breadfruit VS Jackfruit and how these two delicious tropical fruits compare.

You will be able to easily spot these two related fruits in the future!

Jump to:

• 🟢 What is a Breadfruit?
• 🟡What is a Jackfruit?
• 🆚 Breadfruit VS Jackfruit Comparison Table
• 💭 FAQs
• 💬 Comments

In this post, we will compare the two, breadfruit and jackfruit, in looks, taste, uses, growing habits, possible health perks and cultural importance.

We have a massive jackfruit and a gigantic breadfruit tree growing side by side in our tropical garden in Goa, India.

Two more old jackfruit trees are growing in our garden, but they are of a different Jackfruit variety, but more about that further below.

I'm addressing each fruit first and below you will find a table to compare them side by side in a useful Breadfruit VS Jackfruit table.

🟢 What is a Breadfruit?

The breadfruit is on average the size of a soft ball, a large musk melon or that of a large grapefruit/ small pomelo fruit.

A small spiky but thick skin, in a light green skin shade, makes this fruit look like a round or slightly oval-shaped dragon egg.

The tree is fast-growing in a tropical climate and can grow from a few feet to a monstrous large size within years. My photos from 2011 and 2023 proof just that!

Massive dinosaur feet sized leaves adorn the tree's crown. A thin but impenetrable bark and a strong rooting system make this tree a good plant to take on natural disasters.

Fruits grow in large amounts, twice a year, from February to April, as well as from July to September.

The number of fruits that this tree produces may depend on the ecosystem and bread fruit varieties.

A breadfruit is known to be able to produce about 200 fruits in one season, making it an amazing food security fruit.

Preparation Method

The inner fruit flesh is spongy but still hard, cream-colored off-white and very starchy.

It compares mostly to a potato with its neutral flavor profile and texture. The difference is the sticky white glue substance that it emits.

I learned from Paul, and his family in Goa, India, to oil the hands and the knife before cutting a breadfruit.

This is essential because it's super sticky and the fruit quickly turns brown when cut open. The oil adds a transparent thin layer over the fruit pores, and It's less likely to change in color.

Cut out the inner, super spongy core because you don't need that part. It doesn't taste great.

The fruit is best cut into thick slices and because it tastes neutral and has a consistency to take in flavors, it's best marinated in something before it is cooked.

We love to spice up our breadfruit and pan-fry the breadfruit slices. You can also boil, steam, or roast breadfruit slices.

🟡What is a Jackfruit?

The Jackfruit is a colossal fruit, in fact, it's the largest fruit in the world. Its average size is about 44-66 lbs/ 20-30 kg.

These enormous fruits have a spiky outer tough skin, just like the breadfruit, but they look a bit different. The color changes over the growing circle from light yellow green to dark yellowish maroon.

Our jackfruit trees are old, perhaps over 50 years old, and they don't really grow that much larger and bigger, at least not at the same speed as a breadfruit tree.

Nonetheless, large fruits mean the tree has to be able to carry them and carry it does! Fruit grow randomly on branches along the bark, and not just at the end of a branch.

Therefore, a jackfruit tree can bear up to 100 fruits on average in one season with some fruits getting to the size of a 3-year-old child.

A major difference between a jackfruit and a breadfruit are the leaves, they are much smaller than breadfruit trees. Jackfruit trees have hand-sized oval-shaped dark green leaves all year round.

The bark resembles that of most other tropical tree barks, such as a tamarind tree or a mango tree. It looks like a regular tree bark, dark brown and with the usual layered thick ridges.

Fruits grow once a year, and they take a while to grow (thanks to the gigantic size!). The cycle usually starts in December or January and the fruits are ready to be harvested between April and May.

Preparation Method

Contrary to popular belief, many jackfruit varieties exist and the flesh on the inside is not always the same.

The most liked, commercialized and most common variety has dividable soft stringy, mat yellow/orange, fruit “pods”. Other varieties have a jelly-like fruit-flesh.

A chestnut-sized seed can be found on the inside, which can be boiled to eat. Interestingly, we found that the texture and taste actually resembled chestnuts grown in the northern-hemisphere, and the taste coincides as well, it's mealy and nutty.

Ripe jackfruit fruit flesh of the most common variety smells and tastes pleasantly fruity, a bit like a pineapple, mango, passion fruit and banana combined.

It's not a juicy fruit, it's meaty and fibrous, but not in an irritating way. The raw fruit, known as young jackfruit, is often used as a plant-based vegan meat substitute for chicken.

Raw fruits are traditionally consumed and used in southern India, but the preparation differs a lot to when ripe fruits are harvested and prepared.

Cutting up a fruit of this size is a challenge, let alone harvesting it, but it can be done. We put together a guide on how to cut jackfruit to help you get going.

This is because the fruit is super sticky on the inside, thanks to the plant's natural glue-like white substance. You will cry the first time you attempt to cut a jackfruit open!

A tip here is to oil your hand well and your knife before you tackle cutting open a full-sized jackfruit fruit.

Most people enjoy jackfruits as a sweet fruit snack or dessert, but you can use the fruit-flesh in a stew or curry too. In fact, there are countless ways to use jackfruits in food.

🆚 Breadfruit VS Jackfruit Comparison Table

This table highlights the differences between the two fruits. Remember, jackfruit and breadfruit are related, so there is a resemblance.

In fact, breadfruits, and jackfruits are both a relative and members of the mulberry family, which includes breadnut fruits and figs.

The table also summarizes some points and helps you understand the key points in a nutshell.

Keep in mind that I'm addressing the most common variety for each, breadfruit and Jackfruit.

	Breadfruit	Jackfruit
Size	Average diameters are 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm), the size of a smaller soft ball or large grapefruit.	The average diameter 3 feet (1 meter)
Weight	The average weight is 2 and 4 pounds (0.9 to 1.8 kg).	Average weight is 50 pounds (about 20 kilograms)
Skin	Very thick, impenetrable and spiky, in a refreshing light green yellow when fresh. Turns yellowish in time and may even look moldy on the outside (but it isn't).	Very thick firm skin, also spiky but a different pattern to breadfruits. Looks nice light green when growing and turns yellow-maroon in time when it's ready to be harvested.
Tree and Leaves	Large like tyrannosaurus feet and the smallest leaves are a foot (30 centimeter) wide and tall. Leaves turn yellow/orange on the tree and fall randomly, there is no set season for the tree to lose leaves.	Hand-sized oval-shaped dark green leaves. When they are about to fall, they look brown. Leaves fall off randomly all year round, there is no set season.
Fruit Texture	Somewhat spongy but starchy dense, on the lighter spectrum end it can take in easily other flavors from sauces, marinades, and spices. A bit like potatoes or yams but not juicy, instead it emits a sticky glue-like substance.	Smaller mouse-sized pods on the inside, connected to each other with a chestnut-sized seed core in each. The fruit flesh of the seed pods is thin, about 0.20 inches thick (0.5 centimeter) and it's soft stringy, fibrous.
Fruit Flesh Color	Cream, whitish color shade. Turns brown when cut open, just like an apple.	A mat yellow/orange color.
Flavor	A mild flavor, neutral and boring on its own.	Tastes like a mild combination of tropical fruits such as banana, passion fruit, mango, and pineapple. It smells the same from afar but when the fruit is rotting, it smells like vinegar.
Fruit Growing Period	Two growing cycle seasons, from February to April, and from July to September.	One growing cycle season, which starts in December/January and ends in April/May and sometimes also in June.
Edible Fruit Parts	The inner spongy part has to be cut off and discarded, the skin peeled. The white flesh is edible.	The yellow fruit flesh pods are edible and the seeds. Plant fruit casings and the skin need to be discarded.
Uses	Used in savory dishes such as soups, stews, and casseroles by pacific nations and Caribbean islanders. Pan-fried into yellow fries/chips in India. Not a food trend in the west. Eaten raw when young and unripe, where it can be even turned into ice cream or smoothies.	Mostly eaten raw as a fruit snack or dessert in the traditional growing countries. The seeds can be boiled and enjoyed just like chestnuts (they even look the same). It can be used and prepared raw as a main ingredient in curries or salads. Western food fashions transformed jackfruits into a health food and vegan food alternative.
Preparation Issues	A glue-like white substance coming out of the fruit. Oil your hands and knife and use an older cutting board. Needs to be cooked when full ripe. Raw versions of the fruit can be eaten like an apple, raw.	The same scenario, glue-like white substance coming out of the fruit. Oil your hands and knife and use an older cutting board.
Perks consuming it	It feeds everyone and can be used like vegetables in savory meals. Keeps you full longer thanks to the high amounts of carbohydrates. Moreover, breadfruit has some interesting health benefits.	It can be eaten raw, uncooked, and cooked in food. Jackfruit is rich in nutritional value such as fiber. Consuming this fruit may help in reducing cholesterol levels and inflammation.
Popularity globally	Grows commonly in tropical areas around the equator and a staple in the Caribbeans, Pacific nations, African nations, places such as Florida in the US, South Asian and South-East Asian countries. Not very well known in the west and still considered an exotic.	A trendy health food in the west in recent years, a traditional seasonal food ingredient in the East and tropical areas.
Growing Regions	Tropical humid regions with rainy seasons. I.e. India, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, Thailand, Caribbeans, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines.	Grows in tropical regions such as Africa, Asia, South America, Pacific Islands and Caribbeans.
Growing Origins	The fruit is native to the Pacific island nations such as Solomon island, Fiji, Palau, Kiribati, French Polynesia to just name a few.	Native to the Indian subcontinent. I.e. India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. It is believed that the jackfruit is native to the tropical jungles of the Western Ghats in India.
Cultural significance	Breadfruits were used on the long voyages across the ocean, they are a staple and have been part of pacific nation's diet for thousands of years. They are used in rituals and the wood has been used as a material to build canoes.	The national fruit of Bangladesh and the state fruit of Kerala in India. This fruit has been used since ancient times in the Indian subcontinent and is considered a sacred plant. The most creative uses for the fruit and seeds come from Kerala, where it is a staple.

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