About

Artocarpus camansi, the breadnut, is a species of medium-sized tree in the family Moraceae. The wild ancestor of A. altilis (breadfruit), it is also known as seeded breadfruit to distinguish it from its mostly seedless descendant.

The breadnut is native to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Maluku Islands, and introduced in the Philippines. Both the fruit and seeds are edible after cooking.

Where it grows

Artocarpus camansi is native to New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and has been introduced to the Philippines. The ambiguity of the origins of this plant is a result of spread and domestication of multiple species of breadfruit, A. camansi included, as Austronesian sailors spread from island to island in the Pacific. Artocarpus altilis, the breadfruit, is believed to be a domesticated descendant of A. camansi, selectively bred by Polynesians to be predominantly seedless.

Uses

One source states that A. camansi has "high nutritive value but it is an under-utilised food source". Although not as commonly eaten as the breadfruit, it is an important crop in New Guinea, where the breadnut is a staple crop. Usually the fruit is consumed when it is immature; thinly sliced pieces are boiled in soups. In the Philippines (along with the related breadfruit, jackfruit, and antipolo) it is commonly cooked with coconut milk and spices and eaten as ginataang kamansi. In South Asia and the Caribbean it is curried and eaten. The seeds are also of economic value in the Caribbean, Central and South America because they taste like chestnuts. As a result, the seeds can be roasted, boiled, canned, or processed into paste, butter, flour or oil.

Other Artocarpus plants

Breadfruit · Entawak · Antipolo · Artocarpus chama · Artocarpus dadah · Artocarpus · Artocarpus glaucus · Artocarpus gomezianus · Jackfruit · Hirsute artocarpus · Breadfruit · Silver Back Artocarpus