{"id":138588,"date":"2019-08-08T13:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T17:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=138588"},"modified":"2019-08-08T17:01:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T21:01:32","slug":"the-caribbeans-deadliest-fruit-a-taste-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2019\/08\/08\/the-caribbeans-deadliest-fruit-a-taste-test\/","title":{"rendered":"The Caribbean\u2019s Deadliest Fruit: A Taste Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Jonathan Escoffery\u2019s story, \u201cUnder the Ackee Tree<\/a>,\u201d which appears in our Summer 2019 issue, the protagonist, homesick for Jamaica, attempts to grow an ackee tree in his Miami backyard. No amount of water or fertilizer will make the seeds sprout. After Hurricane Gilbert devastates the Caribbean, and all the phone lines back home go out, the protagonist sits his sons down at breakfast to:<\/em><\/p>\n

try teach them them culture to make sure it survive. The tropical market on Colonial start carry canned ackee and green banana and salt cod, so you cook the boys ackee and saltfish and try explain why it Jamaica\u2019 national dish. You see this here, you say. The ackee grow in a pod and it must open on it own or else the ackee poison you. You point to the picture on the can, so them can see how it grow, and it remind you that you never eat ackee out of no can before.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This summer, we mailed Escoffery three varieties of canned ackee (the only kind of ackee available in the U.S.) and asked him to conduct a taste test.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever spent time in Jamaica, you\u2019ve likely had the opportunity to sample the island\u2019s national dish, ackee and saltfish. Typically served at breakfast time, the ackee fruit is lightly boiled and paired with dehydrated salted cod, an assortment of onions and peppers, including scotch bonnet, and rounded out with sides of boiled green banana, dumplings (or spinners<\/em> as they\u2019re called in Jamaica), and johnnycakes. If you order ackee and saltfish over the counter at a restaurant in Brooklyn or Hartford or Miami, these sides will likely be referred to simply as food<\/em>, as in, You wan\u2019 food wit\u2019 that? <\/em>If asked this question, avoid dwelling on the confusion of being asked if you want food with your food, and say yes. The mild sweetness of the green banana and dumplings balances out the cod\u2019s saltiness, and the result is pure magic in your mouth. If you\u2019re interested in cooking the dish at home, it\u2019s relatively simple to prepare once you\u2019ve sourced the ingredients, except for one thing: get it wrong and it will kill you. <\/p>\n

Confession: that last statement isn\u2019t strictly accurate. I have a difficult time sticking to the facts when it comes to Jamaica\u2019s national fruit. I grew up in a Jamaican household, and the largest ackee tree I\u2019ve seen is right in my father\u2019s backyard. I\u2019ve received research grants to study ackee\u2019s attributes, and yet, as a fiction writer, I\u2019m overly drawn to the drama inherent in the fruit\u2019s history. Originating in West Africa, ackee traveled to Jamaica during the transatlantic slave trade and gained national recognition around the time of the island\u2019s largest revolts against slavery. As a purveyor of narrative, I have too easy a time imagining eighteenth-century Jamaicans freeing themselves to the Blue Mountains by poisoning their slaveholders with this delicacy, even when there\u2019s little historical basis for this; too often, I\u2019ve plotted contemporary characters poisoning their abusive loved ones at some final family reunion. It\u2019s all a bit indulgent, too on the nose. As it turns out, on the subject of the ackee fruit, I can\u2019t be trusted. I\u2019m a romantic.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the way ackee can<\/em> poison you:<\/p>\n

The edible part\u2014the yellow arilli<\/em>\u2014grows in a pod, which must open naturally, at which point the toxic hypoglycin has dissipated enough for human consumption. Were you to force one of these pods open, the hypoglycin would remain in the meat of the ackee. The FDA permits only canned ackee to be imported to the U.S. Canned ackee has already been deseeded and cleaned so that when you open the can, you\u2019ll see only the softened edible arilli<\/em> resting in salted water. If you hoped to poison a family member with this, you will be disappointed. But if your goal is to prepare a Jamaican delicacy stateside, your chances of success are high.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The good folks at The<\/em> Paris Review<\/em> shipped me three different brands of canned ackee and challenged me to determine which tastes best. I was excited to get cooking, but also felt this was a setup, an impossible task. Here\u2019s another crucial fact about ackee: it soaks up the flavor of the thyme and tomatoes and salted cod with which it is served, but on its own, it doesn\u2019t taste like anything. I was concerned.<\/p>\n

Determined to keep only to my very subjective opinions, here\u2019s what I found, judging our three brands:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tropical Sun: I\u2019ll admit, I was immediately prejudiced against Tropical Sun. At a glance, the ackee pictured on the label resembles canned sweet corn, or scrambled eggs. In fairness, in both appearance and texture, cooked ackee is often compared to scrambled eggs, but the other two brands\u2019 labels are distinct and appealing. I didn\u2019t want to eat corn, eggs, or ackee out of this can.<\/p>\n

Label ranking:<\/strong> Dead-ass last.<\/p>\n

I opened the can of Tropical Sun ackee and found that I couldn\u2019t differentiate one piece from another. Before you boil fresh ackee, it\u2019s actually rather hard, as smooth as plastic, and shaped much like a pecan. Boiling takes it to a softer, edible consistency that some liken to custard, but you don\u2019t want to boil it down to mush. When you cook ackee and saltfish, you add the ackee to the rest of the meal in the final minutes to ensure that it doesn\u2019t lose its shape. It definitely shouldn\u2019t be mushy on arrival.<\/p>\n

Shape and texture ranking: <\/strong>Also dead last.<\/p>\n

When I mixed the Tropical Sun ackee into the rest of the meal, I have to admit that it tasted lovely. But I\u2019ll also admit that all three brands tasted wonderful when mixed with the cooked saltfish. All were too damn delicious\u2014I couldn\u2019t tell any difference.<\/p>\n

So I broke down and ate a small amount directly from each can (not advisable). Since ackee absorbs the taste of what it\u2019s paired with, and as these three batches had been paired with salted water, when eaten straight from the can, saltwater tin is what I tasted. With Tropical Sun, though, I also tasted something less than fresh, something distinctly unfresh.<\/p>\n

Straight out the can ranking:<\/strong> Eew<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Island Sun: For what it\u2019s worth, I like Island Sun\u2019s label because you can see what the ackee looks like before it\u2019s harvested, so there\u2019s no misunderstanding what you\u2019re getting. And when I opened the can, I was happy to see that Island Sun\u2019s ackee, for the most part, hadn\u2019t lost its shape\u2014hadn\u2019t dissolved into a runny, scrambled eggs\u2013looking mess. When I spooned a small amount directly from the can, I tasted only the saltwater tin. Nothing else.<\/p>\n

Rankings: <\/strong>Momentarily withheld.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Linstead Market: I\u2019m a fan of well-thought-through designs and that\u2019s what I see in Linstead Market\u2019s label. You can see how ackee grows on their label, plus there are fewer words and the fonts are cleaner, making the label easier to read.<\/p>\n

Label ranking:<\/strong> Winner. LM\u2019s ackee held its shape and even held a healthier shade of yellow than the other two. They obviously didn\u2019t overboil their ackee.<\/p>\n

Shape and texture ranking: <\/strong>Winner. Finally, I still tasted the saltwater tin (in fact this tinny taste haunted me for a week after the initial taste test), but in Linstead Market\u2019s ackee I also detected something fresh, as though I could taste the ackee\u2019s nutrients.<\/p>\n

Straight out the can ranking: <\/strong>By\u00a0far the best of the three.<\/p>\n

TLDR: Don\u2019t eat ackee straight from the can.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jonathan Escoffery\u2019s Ackee and Saltfish Recipe<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00bd-pound salt fish (deboned if available)
\nFresh ackee soaked, or canned ackee
\n1 medium onion, chopped
\n1 small or medium bell pepper (yellow, red or green, or mix and match), julienned
\n1 medium tomato, chopped
\n2 cloves of garlic, minced
\n1 teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper, chopped finely (omit if you don\u2019t want the dish spicy)
\n2 stalks scallion, chopped
\n2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil, or coconut oil (my preferred, though less typical)
\n2 sprigs of thyme
\nBlack pepper to taste<\/p>\n

(optional)
\nBacon
\nCayenne pepper
\nPaprika<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cooking Instructions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Soak the salted cod in a large pot of water for several hours to reduce the saltiness. I usually leave it soaking overnight before cooking in the morning. Taste a small amount to make sure enough salt has been removed. It should be salty, but not to the point of cringing.<\/p>\n

If you prefer to go off script and use fresh cod, you\u2019ll skip soaking and boiling it, and need to salt it yourself (to taste). Just know that the fish should be on the salty side to begin with.<\/p>\n

Cut up your onions, scallion, garlic, and peppers. If you\u2019re using scotch bonnet, it\u2019s advisable to deseed the pepper (and wash your hands immediately after touching scotch bonnet!). Set these ingredients aside.<\/p>\n

Chop tomato and leave aside.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re using proper salted cod and fresh ackee, bring your soaking cod to a boil and add the ackee to the boiling pot. Remove the cod as it becomes tender. As the ackee becomes tender (within 5\u201315 minutes), strain the ackee in a colander and set it aside. For canned ackee, simply open your can, rinse the ackee in cold water, strain it, and set it aside.<\/p>\n

In a large frying pan, add your oil. If you want your version to have bacon, cook the bacon first, then use the bacon grease as your base oil. In this case, chop the bacon to small pieces once it\u2019s fully cooked and set it aside.<\/p>\n

Set a medium heat and add your onions, scallion, garlic, and bell peppers (don\u2019t add the scotch bonnet here). Stir until onions and peppers are tender. Add tomato (a beat later) and stir.<\/p>\n

Add saltfish and stir gently. The fish should break into small-to-medium-size pieces. Don\u2019t overcook.<\/p>\n

Add thyme, black pepper, and any other desired seasoning. I like just a dash of cayenne and\/or paprika in mine. Add cooked bacon here, if desired. Stir.<\/p>\n

Add ackee and scotch bonnet to the pan, and stir gently, reducing the heat. 1 to 3 stirs is enough.<\/p>\n

Turn the burner off and let the pan sit with the lid on for 10 minutes to let the flavors soak into the ackee.<\/p>\n

Pair with boiled green banana or toasted bread or dumplings (or even rice), and enjoy!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jonathan Escoffery\u2019s story \u201cUnder the Ackee Tree<\/a>\u201d\u00a0appears in the Summer 2019 issue of <\/em>The Paris Review.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Improperly prepared, the ackee fruit can kill you. We asked one of our contributors to perform a taste test. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1818,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18642],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inside-the-issue"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Caribbean\u2019s Deadliest Fruit: A Taste Test by Jonathan Escoffery<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"August 8, 2019 \u2013 Improperly prepared, the ackee fruit can kill you. 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