Ackee (pronounced "ack-key") is the national fruit and dish of Jamaica
Like reggae, Bob Marley, Red Stripe beer and Blue Mountain coffee, ackee is quintessentially and unmistakably Jamaican.
Every Jamaican at home and abroad longs for a Sunday breakfast of ackee and saltfish (ackee sauteed with salted codfish or baccalao,onions and tomatoes), served with fried plantains, johnny cakes (fried flour dumplings), boiled green bananas or yellow yam, and a slice or two of Jamaican hard-dough bread. Oh......yes!
Preferrably freshly picked ackee, of course, which is more flavorful and has a smoother more buttery taste; but canned ackee or frozen fresh ackee can be almost as good.
The ackee has an interesting history, diverse non-culinary uses, and the distinction of being a gastronomic delight with chimeric features: mouth-watering breakfast staple, and.....lethal poison, if prepared improperly. Ackees have high nutritional value and the exportation of ackee canned in brine is an important revenue earner for Jamaica and Haiti. Jamaica is the only Caribbean island in which the ackee is very popular, it is found in the other islands of the Caribbean, but is not consumed.
Let's learn all about the ackee!
Some ackee aliases
- Akee, achee
- Ackee apple
- Vegetable brain
- Akye-fufu(Ghana)
- Ankye(West Africa)
- Ishin(West Africa)
- Kaka(Ivory Coast)
- Finzan(Ivory Coast)
- Castanha(Brazil)
- Arbre fricasse(Haiti)
- Huevo vegetal(Panama)
- Arbol de seso(Cuba)
- Aki(Costa Rica)
- Merey del diablo(Venezuela)
'Blighia sapida' is the botanical name of the ackee
Close up picture of ripe ackee fruits
THESE ARE ACKEES: THE BRIGHT RED PODS ENCLOSE 2 OR 3 CREAMY YELLOW ARILS OR PEGS TOPPED BY SHINY BLACK SEEDS, ONLY THE ARILS ARE EDIBLE
Nutritional content of the Ackee - 100 gm of canned ackee contains:
Water - 76.7 gm
Lipids - 15.2 gm (50-58% polyunsaturated fats). >55% of the ackees fat content is the essential fatty acid linoleic acid). No saturated fats and no cholesterol
Protein - 2.9 gm
Carbohydrates - 0.8 gm
Fiber - 2.7 gm
Potassium - 270 mg
Sodium - 240 mg
Calcium - 35 mg
Trace amounts of Zinc, Iron, B Vitamins and Vitamin C
"Jamaican riddle: My father's chicken lays eggs which hatch chicks with red bodies and black heads"
The History of the Ackee
The ackee is indigenous to West Africa, not Jamaica!
Guess what? The ackee is of West African origin, and was brought to Jamaica in the 1700s aboard slave ships. Captain William Bligh (he of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) introduced the ackee to the scientific community in 1793 when he brought ackee plants from Jamaica to Kew Gardens in Britain. Slaves in Jamaica latched onto the ackee (it must have reminded them of home, or maybe it was all they had to eat!), and combined ackee with the good protein of salted codfish from the codfisheries of the North Atlantic, which was cheap and could withstand tropical temperatures without refrigeration.
Ackee therefore became a major food crop in the lowlands of Jamaica, and is deeply engrained in the culture and cooking of Jamaica. In its homeland of West Africa, ackee is now more valued for its role as an ornamental and shade tree, with ripe, rotting ackee pods being a common sight along the roadsides of Accra in Ghana.
Export of canned ackee from Jamaica to North America, Britain and other Caribbean islands began in the 1950's. Ackee exports from Jamaica grossed JA$400 million in 2005 and are an important revenue earner for this third world country.
Ackee pics on Flickr
Ackee trees have an average height of 30-60 feet
Jamaican Ackee Sucker- Make a pretty ornamental!
Ackee blossoms being cross pollinated
Green Ackee on tree
Unripe ackee pods on tree
Getting riper........
Ripe, opened ackee on tree
The brigt red pods are distinctive
Ackee pods sans the ackee arils
Ackee arils with seeds
Cleaned Ackee arils ready to be boiled
Boiled ackee ready to be sauteed with codfish and seasonings
Saltfish which has been soaked overnight then boiled and shredded.
Ackee and saltfish in the dutch pot
Ackee and saltfish served and ready to eat. Yummy!
Ackee and saltfish, johnny cakes, fried plantain
Add a scotch bonnet pepper to ackee and saltfish for spicy flavor
Canned ackee
Cleaning ackee
This woman is selling oranges, ackee (the red stuff), escallion, and red peas.
Kids often mistake ackee for scrambled eggs
How to cook ackee and saltfish on YouTube
Ackee and Saltfish Video Recipe
Tracy shows you how to cook the traditional Jamaican breakfast dish - Ackee and Saltfish. http://www.jamaiacatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/ackee _and_saltfish.htm http://www.jamaiacatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink.htm
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10 Comments:
Never eat unripe ackees, clean ripe ackee arils of their inner red membranes, and discard the water in which ackee is boiled
In the late 1800s, Jamaican Vomiting Sickness or Toxic Hypoglcemic Syndrome due to ackee poisoning was described. The illness occurs 6 to 48 hours after ingesting immature ackee fruit. Unripe ackees and the inner red membranes of the ripe arils contain the amino acid Hypoglycin A which produces low blood sugar by disrupting liver metabolism. Vomiting, seizures, coma and death result. Ackee pods must be allowed to ripen and open naturally on the tree to expose the ackee arils
Properly harvested and prepared Ackee is "No problem, mon!"
Ackees have been used in a wide variety of vegetarian dishes and other dishes. My second favorite ackee dish is Ackee quiche.... Yum!
Jamaican cookbooks on Amazon.com
Ackee-Delite flip flop sandal by JAMFLIPS - Available online at www.jamflips.com
Great ackee t -shirts and gift items on CafePress
Visit www.cafepress.com/caribbeandelite to see more
Ackee Delite BBQ Apron
Price: 19.99 
Ackee-Delite Value T-shirt (white)
Price: 12.99
Ackee Delite Jr. Hoodie (white)
Price: 30.99
Ackee Delite Mug (medium)
Price: 13.99
Ackee Delite Tote Bag (beige)
Price: 17.99
Buy an ackee plant on eBay!
Grows easily in South Florida - you need a big backyard, though!
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
The Deadly Ackee - A novel set in Jamaica
Five Star First Edition Mystery - The Deadly Ackee and Other Stories of Crime and Catastrophe
Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)
Murder mystery novel featuring the ackee plus 4 other good short stories
Release Date: 12/31/1969
What's your favorite ackee dish?
Submit your ackee recipes and we'll feature them!
Jamaican phrases, proverbs or songs which mention the ackee
Can you think of some?
Some non-culinary uses of the Ackee
Did you know the ackee was this versatile?
IF YOU ARE STILL WARY OF EATING ACKEE, CONSIDER ONE OF THESE NON-CULINARY USES! :)
MEDICINAL USES
- Anti-helminthic - In Brazil, an aqueous extract of ackee seeds, follwed by a purgative, is used to treat parasitic infestations of the bowel.
- Febrile, diarrhoeal illnesses - In Cuba, ripe ackee arils are blended with sugar and cinnamon for dysentery. In Colombia, the leaves and bark are used in a tea for stomach ailments.
- Topical analgesic- In Cote D'Ivoire, ackee bark is mixed with other spices and applied to aching joints or wounds. Young, crushed ackee leaves can also be applied to the forehead for headache, or used as a poultice for ulcerating wounds.
- Conjunctivitis - In West Africa, an extract of ackee leaves is used to make eye drops.
- Aphrodisiac stimulant - Also in West Africa, the pulverized bark of the ackee tree is mixed with hot peppers and rubbed on the body as a stimulant
HOUSEHOLD AND BEAUTY PRODUCTS
- Cologne- In Cuba, an extract of ackee blossoms is used to make cologne
- Soap - In West Africa, green ackee pods are used for clothes washing as they produce a rich lather. The ashes from burned green ackee fruits may also be used for laundry.
- Wood- Ackee trees have strong, termite-resistant wood which is used for building and construction, or to make boxes, casks, oars and paddles in West Africa
More good info on the ackee
- 7 deadly regional delicacies
- This blog lists 7 deadly delicacies, including the Jamaican ackee.
- CDC article on Jamaican vomiting sickness
- A report in the Morbidity and Mortality Report from the CDC in 1992. Has some good references to other scientific publications on ackee poisoning. Haiti and Burkina Faso in West Africa have had outbreaks of ackee poisoning like Jamaica.
- PubMed article
- Abstract on ackee poisoning outbreak in Haiti in 2000. Good links to a number of other scientific articles on the topic.
Jamaican stuff
Jamaica on the blogosphere
Love to hear from ya!
Our readers speak......
dyharris wrote...
nice lens on ackee, love the ackee jamflips
check out my lens at www.squidoo.com/dyharris
Posted May 09, 2009
ThomasC wrote...
I have never heard of this fruit either! Thanks for teaching me something! Blessing your lens for you!
ThomasC
Posted September 04, 2008
caeleykahn wrote...
Wow! Fascinating! What a lot of work went into creating this lens. Thanks, learned something new!
Posted August 25, 2008
TrishH wrote...
love this lens. Very interesting. Will share with my older son. He loves to learn about new things. I really like this.
Posted July 07, 2008
