I wouldn’t say that I hate cempedak – let’s just say that I do not like eating the fruit. I find it so hard to chew and when I try to swallow, it is kind of choking. I love boiling the seeds though and eating them even though at times, I don’t like the feeling of the gum of the fruit stuck to the upper gum in my mouth.
On the other hand, I would not say that I love eating nangka (jackfruit) but between the two, I would very much prefer this. Still, I would probably just have one or two seeds and that would be it.
The other day, however, I came across the hybrid of the two – cempedak and nangka…
…and I loved it!
It had the crunchiness of nangka so I did not have to suffer the chewing and the choking of eating cempedak…and the taste had a little bit of both – very nice!
Unfortunately, the seed looked kind of funny…so I guess boiling and eating them like what I would do with cempedak seeds would be out of the question.
I hear they are very popular in the peninsula – sold as deep fried fritters. I’m not really a fan of cucur (fritters) cempedak…so probably I would not be a fan of these as well.
All in all, personally, what I love the most is the young cempedak or nangka masak lemak – cooked in santan (coconut milk), that is…
*recycled pic*
…but I’m sure many of you would have your own different opinions.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 