How to Peel Jackfruit

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 20, 2020 References Tested

Jackfruit are a delicious tropical fruit commonly eaten in Southeast Asia. However, they’re also infamously tricky to peel. Fortunately, by taking the right precautions and using the right cutting method, you can easily and safely peel even the trickiest of jackfruit.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:
Cutting the Jackfruit

1
Smell and press the jackfruit to make sure it’s ripe before peeling it. A ripe jackfruit will have a strong, fruity smell to it. It will also have a slight give when you press on it. If the jackfruit isn’t ripe yet, leave it on a fruit tray for a day or 2 to ripen.^{[1]
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- Make sure to check the jackfruit every day to see when it’s finally ripe enough to eat.
- A ripe jackfruit will also sound hollow on the inside when you tap it with your knuckle.
2
Rub cooking oil on your knife, cutting board, and the fruit itself. Put a small amount of oil on a folded paper towel and use that to rub the oil on your knife, board, and jackfruit. Jackfruit produces an extremely sticky latex sap, so you’ll need to coat your materials in oil to keep the sap from sticking to them.^{[2]
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- Use any oil that you ordinarily use for cooking in your home, such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or even coconut oil.
- You may also want to lay down a sheet of plastic wrap on your workspace in order to make sure you catch all the sap that comes out of the jackfruit.
Warning: Do not put oil on the handle of your knife! This will make it dangerously difficult to maintain control of the knife when you go to use it.

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3
Put on latex or rubber gloves to keep the sap off your hands. Be sure to use gloves instead of oil to protect your hands. If you put oil on your hands, you’ll be less able to maintain control over your knife. If you choose not to wear gloves, you’ll have to spend a lot of time later cleaning the sap off of your fingers.^{[3]
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4
Lay the jackfruit on its long side and cut it into multiple round pieces. Start by cutting the jackfruit down the middle to create 2 halves. Then, cut round pieces off of the ends of these halves, making each piece about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) wide.^{[4]
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- When you reach the end of each half, leave a 1.5 in (3.8 cm) wide end piece in place.
- Your may need to apply another layer of oil to your knife after this process, depending on how much sap has accumulated on the blade.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:
Removing the Core

1
Make an incision into a round piece down to the core. Position the piece so that it’s standing upright. Then, use your knife to cut down to the solid white core of the fruit, making sure to maneuver the blade in between the colorful pods inside the piece.^{[5]
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Warning: Be sure to keep a firm grip on the piece with your non-dominant hand to keep the knife from slipping out of the jackfruit and possibly hurting you.
2
Cut around the core of the jackfruit to remove it. Keeping the piece upright, angle your knife and continue cutting to slice around the white core. Slice around this core until you’ve cut a complete circle around it, then remove it by pushing it out of the piece.^{[6]
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- Be sure to not cut into any of the colorful pods surrounding the core; these are the parts of the jackfruit you’ll be eating!
3
Repeat this process to core all of your round pieces. Go back over each piece and remove any leftover pieces of white pulp around the core. All of this pulp will need to be removed anyway, so it’s a good idea to remove as much of it as you can now.^{[7]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:
Extracting the Pods and Seeds

1
Lay out 1 of your round pieces as a flat strip to expose the pods. Stand the round piece upright and place your fingers at the spot where you made your first vertical incision down to the core. Then, pull your hands away from each other to spread the piece out. Finally, lay the piece out to form a flat strip.^{[8]
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- The yellow pods should now be visible and facing upright.
2
Pull the pods away from the strip with your fingers. Grip the pod at its base, near to where it connects to the rind, and pull upwards to remove it. Once the pod is detached from the rind, peel off all of the white pulpy flesh, leaving only the yellow fruit behind.^{[9]
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- Place your peeled pod in a bowl and set it aside. Place the white pulp that you removed in a separate “Discard” bowl.
3
Remove all the pods and repeat this process for each round piece. Place all of your peeled pods in the bowl you placed your first pod in and place all of the white pulp in the “Discard” bowl. Throw away the rind from each round piece and all of the pulp you’ve collected in the “Discard” bowl.^{[10]
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Tip: If you compost, jackfruit scraps are a great addition to your compost pile!
4
Flip the end pieces inside out to expose the pods, then remove them. Hold the end piece with both hands and push on the skin side to turn it inside out. Then, lay the piece on your cutting board and pull the pods out the same way you removed the pods from the other pieces. Repeat this process for the opposite end piece.^{[11]
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- Discard the skin and pulp from these end pieces the same way you disposed your other scraps.
5
Pull each pod open to expose and remove the jackfruit seeds. Take a pod in your hands and pull it open by squeezing your thumbs and fingers together, then pulling your thumbs away from each other. Remove the exposed seed and place it in a separate bowl. Place the seedless pod back in the pod bowl and repeat this process to de-seed all of the pods.^{[12]
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- You can prepare and eat jackfruit seeds by roasting them in a charcoal grill or by baking them in the oven at 400 °F (204 °C) until they start to “pop.” That is, once the insides of the seeds start to pop out like popcorn.
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