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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 5TH JULY, 2015
FOOD SECURITY
Beginning today,TheUWI is hosting
the 2015 International
Breadfruit Conference, themed, Commercialising breadfruit
for food and nutrition security.
A fitting theme, if one were to revisit breadfruit’s
introduction from the Pacific to the Caribbean islands in
1793 when, after having been struck by hurricanes and
other natural disasters, in addition to feeling the brunt of
Britain’s trade embargomounted against the AmericanWar
of Independence, the region found itself in need of a local
food supply. The solution – breadfruit.
The breadfruit’s journey to the Caribbean can be
described as nothing short of an adventure. Its difficult
introduction to our region forms an important part of our
history. The fruit survived and thrived, in fact, and is now
considered a staple in Caribbean cuisine. Apart from the
fruit itself, you’ll find on the market, packaged breadfruit
chips, frozen breadfruit chunks and slices, canned breadfruit
in some Caribbean islands and even frozen TV dinners. Yet,
for its 200 years of existence in our islands, its value has not
been fully realised.
Even in the Pacific Islands where the breadfruit
originated, consumption and knowledge have diminished.
This general disinterest has led to some varieties disappearing
altogether.
A Senior Lecturer inCrop Production and former Head
of the Department of Food Production, Dr Laura Roberts-
Nkrumah has been working on the breadfruit for more than
25 years; her research spans the region and includes topics
such as breadfruit propagation, germplasm collection and
evaluation, orchard management, consumer preferences
and cooking methods, as well as the use of breadfruit for
food security and income generation. She has also been
instrumental in expanding the range of breadfruit varieties
grown in the Caribbean, having travelled to the Pacific to
collect additional germplasm. Our breadfruit germplasm
collection, housed at the University Field Station, is now
the largest outside of the Pacific.
In 2007, the first international breadfruit meeting was
held in Fiji. Its objective – to encourage conservation of the
plant. This year’s conference goal is commercialisation: to
realise the potential for breadfruit’s contribution to food
and nutrition security, through support for enterprises and
development of breadfruit-based industry. In underscoring
this theme, Dr Roberts-Nkrumah added that the discourse
on breadfruit included its relative, the chataigne.
The Caribbean region is the biggest consumer of
breadfruit outside of the Pacific Islands. However, Dr
Roberts-Nkrumah said, “As well-known as the fruit is as a
food crop, it has not experienced the levels of development
and promotion for consumption as some of our root crops.”
This can be traced back to the breadfruit’s establishment
within our islands, when it was rejected by the planters
and enslaved Africans, alike. During the decades since, in
Trinidad and other Caribbean countries, the fruit has gone
through periods of extreme discrimination. Its relatively
low cultural requirement and cost in comparison to other
staples, like rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as its
use to feed livestock, resulted in the stigma: breadfruit is
poor people food. The fruit is, however, now experiencing
a period of high popularity –breadfruit’s health benefits,
particularly in warding off certain lifestyle diseases, have
been widely touted. As a result of these findings and its high
yields, Dr Roberts-Nkrumah said, “In 2004 the breadfruit
The Story
of
Breadfruit
B y S e r a h A c h a m
was declared a crop to be conserved for food and nutrition
security.”
Building on these trends, the 2015 International
Breadfruit Conference aims to converge breadfruit
researchers and producers, equipment manufacturers,
farmers and exporters from the Caribbean, the Pacific,
Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States. Dr
Roberts-Nkrumah added, “People working in various areas
- medicine, nutrition and health, propagation, processing
equipment” have shown interest – among them being
Dr Diane Ragone, Director of the Breadfruit Institute in
Hawaii – who is the keynote speaker. Still on the subject of
taking breadfruit seriously, she also said, “If you’re talking
commercialisation and building industry, then researchers
can’t just sit among themselves and come up with feasible
developmental ideas. All stakeholders must contribute to the
discourse if we are intending to build a long term industry.”
The private sector, as a key stakeholder with the
resources and vision to drive an industry has led the support
for this conference. PCS Nitrogen Trinidad Ltd is the main
sponsor. The Caribbean Development Bank and The Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
are also key supporters. The Trinidad and Tobago Ministry
of Food Production breadfruit nursery and NAMDEVCO
will be among the sites visited during the field trip which
takes place onWednesday 8 July. Another contributor to the
conference is the Inter-American Institute for Coorporation
on Agriculture (IICA), which will play an active role in the
first ever Breadfruit Exhibition and Festival in TT, carded
for Friday 10 July, at The UWI.
With all the support and interest gained, Dr Roberts-
Nkrumah is confident in the conference’s success. “The
biggest take-away we can achieve is that all attendees – from
Trinidad and Tobago, the region and the countries from
which other participants will come, leave enriched and
motivated to stimulate and support the development of
breadfruit and chataigne in their own countries.”
Dr Roberts-Nkrumah is particularly looking forward
to Friday’s exhibition, which will feature displays by
community groups and farmers, as well as those whose
works have been inspired by breadfruit and chataigne,
including, researchers in medicine and health, artists and
chefs. Open to the public and free of charge, this whole-day
event aims to showcase the diversity of the breadfruit, which
can be used for many things, from being repurposed as a
craft item to an element of growing community tourism.
Of course, its value as a food cannot be eclipsed and
among the objectives of conference is to show the public
new and varied ways of preparing breadfruit-based meals.
In addition to challenging chefs, who will be demonstrating
their own breadfruit creations, a breadfruit recipe book,
developed by Instructor in Human Ecology, Chanelle
Joseph, in collaborationwithUWI’s Library, will be available.
Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside.
Breadfruit Salad
Ingredients
4 cups boiled, diced (1/2” cubes) breadfruit
¼ cup red sweet pepper, chopped
¼ cup green sweet pepper, chopped
¼ cup chive, chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
salt to taste (optional)
Method
Mix all the ingredients together. Brush a Pyrex bowl
with oil. Fill with mixture. Chill. Turn out onto a serving
dish and serve.
Breadfruit Au Gratin
Ingredients
1 breadfruit
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup cheese, shredded
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Slice breadfruit lengthwise and remove the center core.
Boil the breadfruit until just tender. Cool slightly and
remove the skin with a sharp knife. Slice the breadfruit
thinly. Melt the butter with the garlic until the garlic
softens (2 – 5 min). Pour the heavy cream into the pan
and let the mixture come to a low boil, being careful
not to let the cream spill over the top of the saucepan.
Let the cream mixture reduce by
⅓
and then add the
cornstarch-water mix. Lower the heat and add the
shredded cheese to the cream sauce (reserve ½ cup
of shredded cheese for the top). Layer the breadfruit
and cream sauce in a 9-inch x 11-inch pan. Top with
the reserved cheese. Bake at 350°F for 35 – 40 minutes,
until the top is lightly browned.
Stuffed Breadfruit
Ingredients
1 large breadfruit
½ cup sweet pepper
1 medium tomato cut in pieces
1 cup fresh minced or left-over meat
½ cup chopped carrots
1 tbsp margarine
Salt to taste
Method
Roast or boil breadfruit whole. Braise onion and sweet
pepper in margarine or oil. Add other ingredients and
simmer till done. Core breadfruit and stuff with filling.
Serve warm.
