Jackfruit, raw

Ripe jackfruit is a large tropical fruit whose flesh comes in sweet, stringy pods called arils, with a flavor often described as somewhere between banana and pineapple, sometimes with a hint of mango. The arils are pulled from the pod and eaten out of hand, tossed into fruit salads, or blended into smoothies for natural sweetness. Because whole jackfruit is large, heavy, and covered in a spiny rind, most grocery stores sell it already broken down into ready-to-eat arils in tubs or bags rather than whole fruit, which makes it far easier to bring home than the intact version.

Choose fruit, or pre-cut arils, that smell fragrant and sweet rather than fermented, and refrigerate cut jackfruit in a covered container, using it within a few days for the best texture before it turns soft and weepy. A 1-cup sliced serving (165 g) fits easily into a fruit bowl, and per 100 g it comes in at 95 calories with 19.1 g of sugar and 1.5 g of fiber, plus a standout 15% DV of vitamin C and 10% DV potassium, making it a naturally sweet way to round out a fruit plate or a tropical fruit salad without any added sugar in the mix.