Ackee

We were told we had 2 cashew trees in our yard. Our guardians were certain of it too.  Yummy!   Then we researched how to prepare cashews.  Wow, not easy, in fact, not really safe.  Come to find out, we don’t have cashew trees.  After seeing the inside of the fruit, we realized they weren’t cashews.  We did more research and finally found a picture of what’s growing on our trees.  

Ackee!  Ever heard of it?  I hadn’t.  Ackee is actually the national fruit of Jamaica.  Ackee trees originated in West Africa and were imported to Jamaica in the 1700s.  Ackee has been banned in the United States because it’s toxic.  Well, not when it’s ripe, but if you pick an ackee before it’s ripe and pry it open, it is toxic.  It causes what the Jamaicans call “Jamaican Vomiting Sickness” which often leads to death.  Thankfully, it’s easy to tell when they are ripe, because they break open on their own, revealing their black seeds. 

I have now tried ackee raw and also boiled & sautéed.  It tastes alright, not great, but not bad.  It was actually similar to scrambled eggs when boiled and then sautéed, but a little nutty.  

I haven’t thrown up yet, so no toxicity.  However, the three times I’ve eaten some, I’ve felt sick and had to make a few extra trips to the bathroom…  I don’t think I’ll be trying it again.  

Here’s to hoping our Mango tree bears good fruit!