The breadfruit is a key-character of the Bounty story. It's Tahitian name is 'Uru, much more exotic than it's scientific name : Artocarpus altilis. Also known as Jacquier.
This page show you it's origins, it's place in tahitian society in the XVIIIe century and the relations between Bligh and this tree...(source : guide Gallimard, " Iles de la Société et Tahiti ")
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Origin : the fruit of this tree, the uru, came from Malaysia, it made the basis for food for the tahitien people before the coming of europeans. Use : the tree hitself was used : the sap to trap birds or repair canoe, the bark gave the tapa (material for clothes), trunc was use for canoes, and the leaves to hold fish. And it was even used for medical drugs... Recipe : the uru is cooked on a wood fire. When the skin is black the fruit is opened, the central part is removed (not eatable). The pulp is beated, wet, to obtain a pastry and after some days of fermentation is cooked in a typical tahitien oven (ahima'a) like bread.The fruits can also be used as potatoes. |
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The drawing, from S.Parkinson (XVIIIe siècle) and the photos show you the uru.
I took this photos on december 2000 on West Indies (Martinique) islands. Nowdays you can found the bread fruit tree everywhere on the island. The bread fruit tree has been introduced in the Antilles by William Bligh when his second journey to Tahiti. The fruit is ripe in July.
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There are 40 variety of bread fruit tree.The drawing here show you 6 of this variety (from left to right) :
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William Bligh and the Uru : 1015 bread fruit trees where taken in the Bounty, 68 where put in little baskets used by botanists in the XVIIIe century to protect plants.
In 1792, William Bligh come back to Tahiti on another ship "The Providence".He come in order to finish the Bounty mission : collect bread fruit trees to get back them in West Indies and Jamaica. The first part of the mission was a succes : the tree became acclimatized, but the slaves always refused to eat the fruit.
Breadfruit Recipes (in french)
