This is the Ackee It is a fruit from the soapberry family So its related to fruits like the Lychee and the Rambutan Ackee has its origin in West Africa Where it's seeds are sometimes used in
medicine or to make laundry detergent It is not commonly consumed, not in Africa, where it's from, or
most anywhere else in the world Why is that? The seeds? Poisonous The rind? Poisonous The unripe fruit? Poisonous. However, there is one country
where not only is the Ackee eaten, it is such an integral part of its cuisine, that many people eat it
every single day That country is... Jamaica All right, everybody I am happy to say that I have with me
the Ackee fruit It looks amazing. Just like, check that out Looks like there's little eyeballs on it It feels kinda like an orange rind on the outside But like, I try to like push this together it will not, it will not push together, when these things open like they open all the way If you eat these when these are closed it's actually very very dangerous and it could kill you It causes something... there's something called
I believe it is Jamaican vomiting sickness? if you eat these unripe.
So, you do not want to do that You actually don't want to eat the rind of it Even if it is ripe And you don't want to eat those seeds Because that will also make you very very ill The only thing you want to eat is that creamy white bit right there That is totally good And it is supposed to be absolutely delicious I've had it canned before and I love it In a can it's already really really delicious So I'm looking forward to trying this
fresh off of a tree Ackee is Jamaica's national fruit And a major component in its national dish Ackee and Saltfish Because I'm vegetarian, I wanted to find a way
that's been used traditionally, that did not involve fish Lucky for me en Jamaica there's something called
Ital Cuisine This is a vegetarian diet
that is followed by Rastafarians I reached out to a Kingston restaurant
that doesn't just serve Ital Cuisine But also offers tours
and vegetarian cooking classes - What is Ital Cuisine? - It's really like undiluted Like a Rastaman... get a coconut Dig some yam, dig some potato,
pick up a few plantains And actually, pick from the tree
or dig from the ground and actually, eat same time
- Ok - So that's really where Ital is coming from Not too much process
- Ok - Just use it from what you have - So no processed food, no meats - No meat no processed food It's also a lifestyle Rastaman say Peace and Love.
Bless and Love. Wishing well The cheff at Veggie Meals On Wheels,
Ibbi Lyon Was kind enough to help me out for this video
and gave me an amazing experience If you live in Jamaica or plan on visiting Check out Veggie Meals On Wheels.
I'll put their information down below Ibbi told me about a Jamaican dish that would be great for my fruit hunting adventure Not Ackee and Saltfish But Ackee and Susumba Susumba is a fruit there is also an importan
part of traditional Jamaican cuisine In Ital Cuisine, they put a lot of importance on
picking fresh ingredients So in order to try Ackee and Susumba,
the proper way first we had to pick them - So at the end of the stick, there's a little hook Look up there you can see that... Ackee fruit - Sometimes... there it comes - Did you catch it in your hands?
- Yeah - That's some mad skills right there You've been doing this a long time, right? - From birth When I was a child I had like three Ackee trees in my yard, so Ackee tree was like... Ackee was like a staple For food, for dinner, for breakfast And the trees grown very tall, so We'll actually pick Ackee almost every day cause different trees bear at different times - You make it look very easy So, well that you're doing this and not me, cos.. I would end up, you know, accidentally killing myself - Like a three step process Take from here And take the seeds And then look carefully if there's anything inside - You're just like chuck in...
- Then put it there; yeah - Do it slowly one more time - So, you take from here - Ok. So, you can pivot it out?
- Yeah, pivot it out - When you do it that way, it doesn't get any... anything from the outside
- You take the seed... yeah... You take the seed from here and then
you check to see how clean it is - Ok
- This is not edible - Ok
- So this has to stay inside the... the part And then... - Any any of that pit in there, like any of that stuff?
- Yeah - Like that rind in there?
- That's it's clean. So, you have to clean it - You got to make sure it's completely off?
- Yeah... Also completely off You can use that knife to take the seed - Ok
- But if you're skillful and careful enough, you can still take the seed without leaving anything - Ok
- So, as you can see, this is very clean - People at home
Ibbi knows what he's doing So, if you see an Akee tree, don't do this Make sure you get somebody who knows
what they're doing because... Yeah, you do not want to get sick from this - These open naturally on the tree As you can see already that one that we pick today
- Right So, if you try cutting one of the sealed ones open?
- Yeah... not gona be good for you The seeds, rind and unripe fruit all contain Hypoglycin A and Hypoglycin B These are two toxins that, when consumed can have terrible, and sometimes lethal,
effects on the body So, a few hours after eating
something high in this toxin you will get, abdominal cramps
and you'll start vomiting In severe cases, encephalopathy sets in Meaning that this will affect the brain When this happens, it can cause seizures, coma and even death So, does this mean that you should
worry about eating Akee? No. Akee is absolutely fine to eat To put things in perspective The amount of Hypoglycin in an unripe Akee, is 1000 parts per million In the ripe fruit, it is only .1 part per million That means there is
ten thousand times less toxicity in the ripe fruit than the unripe fruit Ripe Lychees, actually, contain more of this toxin and those are far more common than Akee is On top of all of that In Jamaica, Akee is almost always cooked Which acts as an extra safety precaution - Can you eat a raw Akee or do you have to cook it?
- Akee can be eaten raw but is very cladding So it's better if you like to sit in the Sun
like a Sun cook - Ok
- For like a few hours -Yeah
-So, it is a little bit -A little bit it's ok?
-Mm-hmm. A little bit it's ok - What does that taste like? - Very interesting. You get like a sweet... you get like a little sweet taste And... actually tastes like a tangerine.
It may taste like a tangerine... - Tangerine?
- tangerine is a family of an orange - Ok. So, I'm gonna try a little piece
of raw Akee Oh. It's very firm It's got the texture of like a piece of jackfruit And the flavor is like almonds And avocado Won't say tangerine so much
maybe like a little bit of like... the bitterness you get from a tangerine maybe
-Yeah - Little like the...
- Like tannic? little tannic there - Little little tannic from a like a
tangerine pith would have Are there different types of Akee
or just the one variety? - Yeah, well you have mainly two types of Akee
- Ok - You have an Akee that when it cooks
it gets very soft They call it a Butter Akee That's not the best one to cook
because you want Akee to be firm And my tree is very firm - I've had in a can before and that is like... it's like scrambled eggs
- Mm-hmm - It's like very soft
- Yeah - So, this Akee is very different than... ...what you get in a can
-It's very different, yeah - Oh. I'm excited - So, can you tell me a little bit
about the... uh... is Susumba? - Susumba - Susumba
- Susumba tree, but uh... What's it called?. Gully Bean
- Ok - Gully Bean is basically a nickname for this fruit
- I see The tree here, the branches have on like some bar... like some maka. We call it maka
- Ok - It is like a prick
- Little torns on it - Yeah. Like a little torns on it I guess this helps to protect the fruits Grow all the year, it's not seasonal And doesn't grow everywhere,
because as you can see, we're far away from the reserve
and doesn't find one tree It's not a lot that tree is all are over
- Right And you drove me about like ten minutes
away from where I met you... ...to find this one
- For ten minutes, yeah. To find this one - They're not everywhere, but...
- Is not everywhere - along the way we saw Akee everywhere
- Akee is everywhere When a fruit is young. It's better It's more edible when it is small - So, that is the ideal size right there You want to be like a pea?
- Yeah, like a pea - And once it gets bigger, what's happen to it?
- When it's get bigger. It's much sure So, it's very hard Lost its flavor and it's more bitterish - So, you can eat that, but it's not gonna
taste has good as this tiny ones Interesting - Searching the trees is a good exercise,
you know? This is something that's
very unique to Jamaica It is, I believe, a Solanum species so, it's related to eggplants, tomatoes, peppers...
stuff like that But it is a very special native plant that has a lot of history to it but it's something that is... uh It's kind of dying out So if you want to eat this sort of thing
you got to know where to get it And a lot of people they'll actually like forage it If you go to a major market in Jamaica,
you might find this... With one of those little old ladies, you know? You find an old lady, you know
you're gonna find some good stuff Because these are things that
people eat traditionally But they're not things that the
younger generation is after It is still important in Ital Cuisine, it's use in a lot of the recipes But Ital Cuisine tends to use some
of the more traditional things So it does live on in that world I do want to give like a little small taste
of like what this does taste like raw Just for documentation purposes It's not something you wanna do But, let's give it a try It tastes a little bit like a green tomato But with a lot more bitterness And it has a little bit of a tang to it It's like triggering my sweet receptors
on my tongue but, like not the ones that get triggered
when you have sugar It feels like a different sort of sweet And the bitterness is like, it's there, but it's like bitterness that you would get from eating like raw broccoli or something It's like a very vegetal kind of bitter flavor And, the tartness is nice It's not like a tartness that you
would get from like a lemon It's more like a tartness that you can get
from like some green veggies That's... uh That's interesting It's definitely got a very strong
vegetable like flavor So, that is something that
feels like you're getting your greens - So, we're doing a dish with both the Susumba...
- And Akee - ...and the Akee together
- Yeah - Is this this is a normal dish
that some a lot of people eat? - Not a lot. When I said mostly the traditional culture of Rastaman - If you went to like an Ital a restaurant,
you can find Susumba? - It has to be a restaurant... uh That is, uh... more rustic? Encountered grass roots
- Sure, sure - If you're going to maybe an establish
vegetarian, vegan restaurant And find... uh And find Susumba being served Because, is that everybody like it
It's not ???? I look forward to practice more,
that more people can appreciate it and acquire the taste You know, when things are cooked
they introduce more And more people get to utilize it but, because is not a fruit that it can
be finded right trhu and all around They need to be marginalized
in that way - So, these are the ingredients you're
putting together. We've got... uh - Thyme
- Yeah - Scallions
- Yeah. Scallions - Onion... carrots
- We have, carrots. We have onions because, we believe in the natural seasoning
over like the MSG seasoning Like the black pepper and seasoning salt - Ok
- We try to keep things more natural, so These are growing locally Because the Akee is easier to cook
than Susumba We add the Susumba first - Ok. That takes longer to cook?
- Yeah, it takes longer to cook So, we've to chopped this one because, it cannot be totally upright Water is getting a greenish color - ¿And the scallion goes in whole? That is giving flavor?
- That is giving flavor cause it's gonna be extracted
before the final process - So, the Susumba and the scallion were in there
for about, maybe 10-15 minutes? - Like 10-15 minutes
- And then the Akee go in - And then we add the Akee now, to it
- And how... - Akee go another ten minutes
- how much longer? Another ten? - Another ten minutes
- Ok - The good thing about cooking Ital food
is that you get all the colors there in So actually before you
actually consume it the presentation is great, you know?
- Sure Let's say that you want to... It's healthier too. I've heard Like you have a lot of different colors in your food
- Yeah - You're getting different types of nutrients
- Mm-hm Diferent types of vitamins - This is homemade coconut oil
- Yeah It smells delicious.
It smells like toasted coconut Oh, that's really good - Smell that aroma - Like. I already smell the coconut
and the scallions Smells really good So, it's the Scotch Bonnet Habanero here
- Yeah, so - This are good
- Now we extract the seed The seed is very hot, and... The seeds give you a flavor, but
you try to take out some of the seeds - Ok. So, you're cutting out the seeds
so it's not too spicy - Yeah. But I clean it to give up
that full flavor But, people after they get their meal
-Mm-hm - You could add more Akee and Susumba are together - This is wonderful The two big items that
I wanted to try in Jamaica were Akee and Susumba,
and here they are I didn't even know they went so well together - Ok. It's done
- Smell so good - It looks really good too And this is going on top of
some red quinoa I love that these are... You're serving this in Calabash bowls Look guys, watch.
If remember I made a video about the Calabash fruit
In the Philippines where it's eaten as like...
as a juice or a tea Here not so much It's more just for cutlery,
making bowls out of Mmm That's really good The Akee is nice and buttery,
maybe like avocado... or tofu, or something It's got like a nice
protein rich kind of flavor The coconut oil in the US
has like no flavor at all This has like... It's not like sweet
but, it does have like a richness Like a nice rich nutty coconut flavor and And this... the Susumba Just a little bit of bitterness Like a piece of spinach, or... a piece of kale or something like that
- Yeah, yeah - Yeah. That's actually pretty nice.
And they have like a nice little pop to them - That little pop is that little seeds going in,
you know Very nutricious, you know?
- Yeah. The textures are really nice Those stuff out of the can is like...
kind of like mushy. You know? - Yeah - I like the stuff in the can,
but it does not compare to this like whatsoever - Yeah. It's convenient
- Mm-hmm - Cans are convenient. So... You get it natural,
freshly pick, freshly squeezed, freshly cook - Mm-hmm - Yeah. That's best - That is... the key word is "fresh" If I lived here and I would be able to
have an Akee tree I would be eating this every day At least This is probably like
one of those delicious things that I've had And... it is one hundred percent vegan too.
Right? - Yeah. One hundred percent - Yeah. There's nothing no animal or anything,
There's not preservatives Like there's just like a very clean, healthy, tasty,
like delicious food And, uh... This is actually the first meal that I've had in Jamaica So, uh... You've set the bar very very high
- Thank you. Thank you. - I have a feeling I'm going to have to find
more of this And eat as much Akeee as I can
while I'm here Because, I know when I go back to New York,
it's not gonna be the same So. This is a really incredible experience Thank you so much for sharing this with me
- No problem - This is incredible - You're welcome. And I mean... remember that you have roots here now in Jamaica You have family away from home,
you know? Away from New York, Is a family vibration
- Aww - Is one love one heart
As our brother Bob Marley will always say - Sure. Thank you so much That means so much to me to hear
- Yeah - If you come to New York... I can't say I'm gonna
be able to give you something like this But, we got some... we got some stuff
that's pretty ok Some bagel, some stuff
It's all right So, you're welcome to New York as well
- All rigth, yeah. We apreciate it. Thank you - All right. Thank you my friend
- And safe travel home - All right. Thanks so much Getting a chance to meet with you,
and having you as you show me like what it looks like on the tree How you pick it, how you clean it,
how you prepare it, how you cook it And then how you eat it That's really a very valuable experience, so Guys, If you want to check out
Veggie Meals On Wheels and the tours they do Information is in the description
