BANGALORE: Come April 22, one can enjoy the sweet and sour taste of the thorny but tasty, delicious, mouth watering jackfruits. A variety of dishes and products including jackfruit payasam, jackfruit halwa and jackfruit ice cream is going to be served at the Jackfruit fest to be held on this day. The Green Path Eco Foundation (GPEF), Bangalore is celebrating this year’s ‘Earth Day’ with this novel theme of ‘Jackfruit’.
H R Jayaram, owner of GPEF and managing partner of Era Organic said, “Wwwe want eco- friendly food to come to table and the local farmers to benefit out of it. Instead of procuring fruits from far away state, it will be good if people buy this fruit which is rich in potassium, and aids in lowering the blood pressure.”
In Kerala and Karnataka, nearly 40 jackfruit festivals, along with other initiatives to create awareness on the utilisation of the fruit, have been organised during the past five years.
The event is being organised on the Earth Day, which is celebrated to appreciate the earth’s natural environment. A number of value added products can be prepared from the jackfruit tree. And not just the fruit, even the leaves acts an excellent fodder for animals. And the fallen leaves act as natural soil manure.
Farmers from Doddabalapur, which is famous for the fruit in Karnataka are expected to participate and brief about the rich nutrients of the fruit. According to Jayarama, there will be 15-20 stalls which will showcase different value added products made of jacfruit including desi wine made out of jackfruit. “As part of post harvest technology, a wide range of value-added products can be made out of jackfruit and it can be a good source of income for the farmers,” he added.
Jackfruits from states such as Kerala, Chikkamagalur, Coorg and Tumkur will be on sale at the venue.