Albert and his "Fermas"

 

About a week ago, as I was doing my morning routine of walking around our (enclosed) neighborhood street, my friendly and fave neighborhood "keepers" Dennis (all-around caretaker of the former nearby Discovery Pre-school) and Albert (neighbor housekeeper) and I went to Albert's fruit-bearing tree just inside his boss' outdoor garage lot to harvest (or just pick) a largish plump green textured fruit that looked like "langka" or jackfruit but which Albert referred to as "fermas". Dennis being the limber one did all the tree-climbing.

Apparently, neither of us knew what it was called so I googled up an image I took of it the following day after already having eaten some broiled with sugar, and came up with the Google Lens image above. It's been properly identified as breadfruit or "rimas" in Tagalog or "camansi" or "kulo" in Visayan. From Pinterest, I came across a vintage image of some breadfruit carried by a native of Fiji Islands. Picture was captioned as such: Can Breadfruit Save the World? The tropical fruit could revolutionize the fight against food insecurity. It was a link to this Saveur website. But I did my own sleuthing/confirmation.

From Wikipedia: Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family believed to be a domesticated descendant of Artocarpus camansi originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines. 

The Good: 1) Breadfruit is high in complex carbohydrates, low in fat, and cholesterol and gluten free. It has a moderate glycemic index (blood sugar shock) compared to white potato, white rice, white bread, and taro.

2) Breadfruit is a rich source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Besides being beneficial for skin and hair, these two essential fatty acids are quite good for maintaining a healthy heart. The omega-3 fatty acid is also essential for the growth of the brain and mind. 

3) Breadfruit has been used in traditional medicine for diabetes mellitus. 

From The Dept. of Agriculture Ph: ALBAY, Philippines – Breadfruit is one of the emerging traditional crops in Bicol. This means it is being developed into various products to become a staple crop which can help alleviate poverty and malnutrition. Locally known as rimas or kulo, this starchy fruit which smells like freshly-baked bread when cooked can be turned into pastillas, chips, donut, and even ice cream. And then there's the full meal entry to a cooking competition in Albay that used breadfruit for rice. Breadfruit also provides some carotenoids, such as β-carotene and lutein, which are not present in white rice or white potato.

In a country that has white rice as its staple food, this would be the good alternative, as anything "white" is bad. So, as I am not an expert in food and only keep watching movies in my idle time, this is my own contribution to the world of healthy eating...the advancement of the fruit that can be mistaken for green softball-sized dinosaur eggs, handed over to me by friendly-neighborhood Spiderman Albert Morales. If only there were more. Spidermen... Breadfruit...