Jackfruit Variety with the Best Quality Fruit and Tree... and They Said!

[LEOOEL]

If we were to exclude jackfruit varieties that have a crucial problem with them, like low-production, fruit-split, ugly-tree..., what do you Forum Members think is the 'Jackfruit Variety with the Best Fruit and Tree?' With number one being the jackfruit variety with both the best fruit and tree, number two would be second best, etc.

This is my (humble opinion) list. I have all three varieties, but I've so far only tasted the 'Sweet-Fairchild,' I'm waiting for the others to grow and produce.

1   J-31
2   Black Gold
3   Sweet Fairchild

[HMHausman]

If we were to exclude jackfruit varieties that have a crucial problem with them, like low-production, fruit-split, ugly-tree..., what do you Forum Members think is the 'Jackfruit Variety with the Best Fruit and Tree?' With number one being the jackfruit variety with both the best fruit and tree, number two would be second best, etc.

This is my (humble opinion) list. I have all three varieties, but I've so far only tasted the 'Sweet-Fairchild,' I'm waiting for the others to grow and produce.

1   J-31
2   Black Gold
3   Sweet Fairchild

Are you saying you are ranking two cultivars that you haven't tasted yet above one that you have tasted for your top three?  Or am I misreading?

[pollo696]

I usually have trouble making out what Leooel says/means, but he does point out he's including the tree (shape/appearance?) as one of his criteria. I think he means he likes how the other two look compared to the third one.
OR maybe he means that he's tasted them from somewhere OTHER than his trees and just hasn't tasted the ones from his trees?
Although I agree with that you shouldn't rank a fruit tree JUST by tree appearance.

Never mind, I don't know what he means.

My personal top 3 are all unknown seedlings from trees I've found in the wild. Best one I had was like a crunchy fruit punch that had extremely little sap when I opened it. Didn't have much of a smell either, which was a big + for me.

[Coconut]

Vietnamese pigmy Jackfruit. Compact easy to maintain. Nice crunchy taste, no latex & you can get it from excalibur in lake worth.

[LEOOEL]

If we were to exclude jackfruit varieties that have a crucial problem with them, like low-production, fruit-split, ugly-tree..., what do you Forum Members think is the 'Jackfruit Variety with the Best Fruit and Tree?' With number one being the jackfruit variety with both the best fruit and tree, number two would be second best, etc.

This is my (humble opinion) list. I have all three varieties, but I've so far only tasted the 'Sweet-Fairchild,' I'm waiting for the others to grow and produce.

1   J-31
2   Black Gold
3   Sweet Fairchild

Are you saying you are ranking two cultivars that you haven't tasted yet above one that you have tasted for your top three?  Or am I misreading?

Based on my research, when you take into account jackfruit fruit quality and tree quality, I've come to the conclusion that 'J-31' comes out on top.

I am excluding from this list 'seedling jackfruits,' unless they are available for sale/propagation.

It's common knowledge that 'Black Gold' is known to be a great jackfruit tree, with sweet fruit. The only drawback is that its fruit is soft and not crunchy. Crunchy jackfruit fruit is very desired by the Asian community, while the soft flesh kind is not. Because of this, I have to agree with you that perhaps it probably shouldn't be at number two on my list. Although this may be true, I can't wait to taste the soft flesh of 'Black Gold,' when it starts to bear fruit.

The NS-1 has been reported to taste a bit better than the J-31, but the NS-1 is reported to have a problem(s) with the tree. Jeff has reported it to look 'scraggly' at a certain time(s) of the year.

From what I've been able to gather: (1) the best jackfruit 'cultivar' taste and quality fruit is the 'NS-1,' (2) the best quality jackfruit tree, is the 'Black Gold.' And, (3) the jackfruit cultivar with 'both' the best fruit quality/taste & best quality tree, is the 'J-31.'

[HMHausman]

Based on my research, when you take into account jackfruit fruit quality and tree quality, I've come to the conclusion that 'J-31' comes out on top.

I am excluding from this list 'seedling jackfruits,' unless they are available for sale/propagation.

It's common knowledge that 'Black Gold' is known to be a great jackfruit tree, with sweet fruit. The only drawback is that its fruit is soft and not crunchy. Crunchy jackfruit fruit is very desired by the Asian community, while the soft flesh kind is not. Because of this, I have to agree with you that perhaps it probably shouldn't be at number two on my list. Although this may be true, I can't wait to taste the soft flesh of 'Black Gold,' when it starts to bear fruit.

The NS-1 has been reported to taste a bit better than the J-31, but the NS-1 is reported to have a problem(s) with the tree. Jeff has reported it to look 'scraggly' at a certain time(s) of the year.

From what I've been able to gather: (1) the best jackfruit 'cultivar' taste and quality fruit is the 'NS-1,' (2) the best quality jackfruit tree, is the 'Black Gold.' And, (3) the jackfruit cultivar with 'both' the best fruit quality/taste & best quality tree, is the 'J-31.'

Ah ha.....OK, so this was like a research thesis.  OK....well, I find it generally well reasoned but I am not sure that you would cone to the same conclusions of you had all of the world's best jakfruit trees and fruit in front of you for actual inspection and tasting......or even the other cultivars available here that you have not yet tried.

A couple of comments about your choices:

From my experience, Black Gold is a great tree as far as its look and growth habit.  I haven't seen many others that can rival it full canopy and excellent disease resistance.....but I am sure there are some somewhere that could. However, maybe not locally at this time anyway.

NS-1 is an excellent tasting jakfruit but not the best that I have ever tried and I am sure there are better ones than the ones that I have tried out there in the world yet to be tasted by me. Even locally, NS1 was surpassed in flavor for me even by J-31 .  Of course, this is a matter of opinion.

Sweet Fairchild, I have yet to taste and therefore cannot comment.

J-31 is a good producer and an excellent fruit taste-wise.  Whether it is the best considering the tree and fruit quality its highly debatable.

There are a few other jaks I think you should try before you reach your final conclusions.  I know you are just talking about commercially available, in the area, trees.  But there are quite a few to still consider.  You have the Mai group......1,2,and 3.....of which probably 1 and 3 might be considerations.  Then there are the Bangkok Lemon, Lemon Crunch and red fleshed fruits, like Borneo Red and Dang Suria.  I haven't had the latter as of yet either, so I really can't give you too much in the way of guidance.

Then there are the Australian jaks that I am dying to try.  I know since those are unavailable here they do not come into consideration.

So my point....keep an open mind (and mouth) and keep tasting and analyzing.....and of course posting.

[mangomandan]

Vietnamese pigmy Jackfruit. Compact easy to maintain. Nice crunchy taste, no latex & you can get it from excalibur in lake worth.

I did not turn up much with a google search.   Could you tell us a bit more about this cultivar?   Is the fruit sweet and rich?  How does the tree handle Florida's (relatively) cool, dry winters?

Thanks.

[LEOOEL]

Vietnamese pigmy Jackfruit. Compact easy to maintain. Nice crunchy taste, no latex & you can get it from excalibur in lake worth.

Sounds like that variety is a short tree. And, what about the fruit, if the fruit are small, to me that amounts to a reduction in overall quality of this variety. If you could answer the questions posted by 'Forum Member' mangomandan, we would all know more about the fruit characteristics of this variety that you have mentioned.

Harry, thank you for making my day, you said that you've tasted both the 'NS-1' and the 'J-31,' and of the two, you liked the taste of the 'J-31' better. I can't wait for my 'J-31' to grow and bear fruit. Then, I plan to compare the taste to the 'Black Gold' and the 'Sweet Fairchild,' thanks again.

[LEOOEL]

👍Breakthrough!
A reason to eat more jackfruit?

Dr. @davidasinclair says:

He eats the jackfruit derived sugar,
Allulose,
to…reduce inflammation
(an aging accelerant),
I now realize that this is a reason why my farmer grandpa lived to 💯!

He:
👍Always ate jackfruit!
👍Fasted a lot!
😢Did cigars

Conclusion:
I think that he would have Lived longer than 💯 if he hadn’t smoked cigars.
I have to find out if he was an occasional drinker;
Occasional drinking accelerates the aging process,
IMO.

https://x.com/davidasinclair/status/1893064940346277888?s=46

Also,
BRAKING NEWS about the latest investigative research on the Best jackfruit varieties:
Please stay tuned to this Thread in this coming week.

[Julie]

I'm definitely interested in finding the best tasting jackfruit variety.  I've only tasted a few named varieties where I was told the name.  I personally didn't really like any of them.

Black Gold - for me it was a horrible jackfruit.  Thin, long fruit.  The pods were very thin, tons of small pods with a superthin meat, and it didn't taste good.  Lots of latex. This is what I remember.  I know a lot of people like it so maybe I had a bad one.

Golden Nugget-it's OK, not great in my opinion.  It has a different flavor, more of a sweet-tart flavor (if I remember correctly), and the pods aren't very juicy.

I like either a soft jackfruit or a crunchy jackfruit that is still juicy and has an intense flavor.

Mango festivals are cool, but there should also be a jackfruit tasting and white sapote tasting!  I know fruit and spice park has a lot of jackfruit, and I'm planning on joining there soon, but jackfruit doesn't fall off when it's ripe and they only let you eat fallen fruit.

[LoPresti]

Are there any that can grow here in Northern California? I planted some seeds and gave them to a friend but kept 2. They died when I transplanted them. He gave me back 2 more and the cold got them. My banana survived next to them. His trees are still growing but I took the seeds from a 20+ lb jackfruit from a Chinese market. It smelled and tasted like bubble gum. I’d love to get a dwarf variety and grow here. Would it even fruit?

[LEOOEL]

👍Breakthrough!
A reason to eat more jackfruit?

Dr. @davidasinclair says:

He eats the jackfruit derived sugar,
Allulose,
to…reduce inflammation
(an aging accelerant),
I now realize that this is a reason why my farmer grandpa lived to 💯!

He:
👍Always ate jackfruit!
👍Fasted a lot!
😢Did cigars

Conclusion:
I think that he would have Lived longer than 💯 if he hadn’t smoked cigars.
I have to find out if he was an occasional drinker;
Occasional drinking accelerates the aging process,
IMO.

https://x.com/davidasinclair/status/1893064940346277888 :'(?s=46
 :'(
Also,
BRAKING NEWS about the latest investigative research on the Best jackfruit varieties:
Please stay tuned to this Thread in this coming week.

I had to replace my zombie jackfruit tree
(
zombie bc the growth has been frozen at 15 feet and it’s covered all over with alternating dead branches and undead leaves. It’s a horror show;
I’ve waited in vain for years for it to snap out of its coma.
)
that was sold to me as an ‘Excalibur-Red’ jackfruit variety.
But, I’m now 99% sure that it’s a seedling.

So, in order to replace the seedling with a real jackfruit cultivar,
I did a really extensive deep-dive research online,
in order to find the best jackfruit variety with these characteristics:

Highest sweetness with no juicy fruit bubble gum taste
(
I already have a recently planted ‘Xain-Red’ jackfruit variety that is supposed to be
deep red-fleshed and
(I think) an intense bazooka bubble-gum flavor
),
Thick-flesh, and
Excellent fruit and tree qualities.

And, to my surprise, the winner was (drumroll please): ‘Lemon-Gold’ jackfruit variety.

So, today I went to ‘Lara Farms’ and purchased a 3 gallon tree of this variety.

P.S.: Thinking Out loud
Because I was burned with a seedling that should have been a grafted cultivar
(which wasn’t purchased at ‘Lara Farms’),
I’m nevertheless having a PTSD reaction with this purchase,
even though I’ve never been burned at ‘Lara Farms’
(I’ve purchased many fruit trees from there with no problems)!
Now, sadly, I can’t help it, I’ll only believe that it’s the desired cultivar when I actually get to eat the fruit from the tree.

[Greater Good]

Something is going on ...

[Artocarpus]

What variety might this be?

[Greater Good]

What variety might this be?

Not sure. Got it at an adopt a tree program in 2006. It was grafted.
Fruit a averages 20-45 lbs, skin turns brownish at ripening. Crunchy and sweet 😋