Sokah2Soca

Curry Chaitagne is a delicacy and one of my favorite foods when served with 'buss-up-shirt' or to be correct paratha roti.
The chataigne (Artocarpus camansi Blanco) looks like a breadfruit on steroids with all the spikes decorating the green skin. One can venture to joke and call it spiky breadfruit but this versatile fruit is more than that. The curry chataigne when done right with the almost matured fruit is sumptuous. I like it when the seeds are soft not when the fruit is about to mature. In such a situation the seeds are not as soft but easy to eat once curried to the delight of the person consuming this tasty delight. Now this may sound strange but the chataigne is considered a 'breadfruit' in some circles and is referred to as 'prickly breadfurit'. Chaitagne is the French word for chestnut and I have read where people are cooking it in similar fashion. It all sounds confusing doesn't it? Chataigne is a breadfruit and really means chestnut... Gosh we have done it again and have confused everything but who cares... in Trinidad Chaitaigne is just that Chaitagne not Guyanese chestnut or Breadfruit. Oh yes, we serve it with the very best roti in the World - Trini Style!

The Chaitagne is also known as 'breadnut' in some regions and is seasonal with the onset of the rainy weather. Trinidadians love to eat this fruit curried and also when the fruit has ripened (in this case spoilt and unusable for cooking purposes) and falls off the tree.  The seeds are harvested and boiled shelled and eaten. As a child we would joke and call the seeds 'farting pills' because for some reason flatulence seemed to accompany the eating of the chaitagne seeds later on in the digestive process. Yes, the ingestion of boiled chaitagne seeds will result is some really wicked 'pooms'! Click on this link for further reading - 'Is it a Fart or a Poom'

I can't say that I have heard of dishes being prepared elsewhere with this fruit but in Trinidad the Chataigne is loved and relished but not just for the nutritive value but simply because it tastes so good. We love it but then again there are those who don't...What is wrong with these people?

Photo Source:http://www2.nalis.gov.tt; Information: http://www.birdsoftt.com/scenes%20info/breadfruit.htm
Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation)