Breadfruit
Food · Fruit · Food, Typed Supps
Breadfruit looks like a big green potato-fruit, and just like a potato, you always cook it before eating -- raw breadfruit is hard, bitter, and unpleasant.
Stage by stage
- Cooking & chewing (Mouth): Cooked breadfruit is chewed and mixed with saliva; cooking is essential first because it gelatinizes the fruit's dense starch, which raw breadfruit's astringent, latex-containing flesh strongly resists.
- Stomach breakdown (Stomach): In the stomach, acid and churning continue breaking down the gelatinized starch while the fruit's fiber (about 4.9 g per 100 g) slows overall digestion.
- Intestinal absorption (Small intestine): The small intestine absorbs released glucose along with potassium (490 mg/100 g), vitamin C (29 mg, about 32% DV), magnesium, and B6.
- Energy & electrolyte use (Blood & muscles): Glucose fuels cells for energy, potassium supports heart and muscle function and fluid balance, and fiber moves on to nourish gut bacteria.
Timing
Eating breadfruit as part of a mixed meal with protein and vegetables moderates its medium glycemic index (about 65) compared to eating it alone.
Time to effect
- Minutes to hours: Blood glucose from breadfruit's starch typically begins rising within 30-60 minutes of eating, while its fiber and potassium contribute to digestion and electrolyte balance over the following hours.
Allergens
None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.
Satiety
175 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — high. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.
Environmental footprint
1.6 kg CO2e and 648 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Wheat & rye" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.
Cost band
Cheap — roughly £3 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 103
- Protein: 1.1g
- Carbohydrate: 27.1g
- of which sugars: 11g
- Fat: 0.2g
- of which saturated: 0.1g
- Fibre: 4.9g
- Sodium: 2mg
Food vs. supplement
Whole cooked breadfruit provides fiber, potassium, and vitamin C in one food matrix that slows digestion and blunts blood sugar spikes -- benefits that isolated potassium or vitamin C supplements do not replicate.
Kitchen tip
Boil, roast, or bake breadfruit until a knife inserts easily (about 30-45 minutes); never eat it raw, and handle the sticky latex sap with care if you have a latex or fruit allergy.
Common myth
"Breadfruit is basically a type of bread, so it's a grain." In reality: Breadfruit is a fruit (genus Artocarpus, related to jackfruit), not a grain or bread product; it gets its name from its starchy, bread-like texture and smell once cooked, and it must be cooked -- raw breadfruit is hard, astringent, and contains oxalate-bearing latex sap.
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