Meet Jack

Before lunch today, buoyed by our success at language school in the morning, we decided that we would buy an entire jackfruit, since they were better value than the trays of pre-cut fruit.

As I took it to the weigh station, the lady working there gave me a strange smile and said "Thank you." as I left. I assumed it was because of my dashing good looks, but it was for a different reason entirely. She knew what was coming...

When we got home, we took several photos of the fruit, which we'd nicknamed Jack, to use for Vietnamese practice, eg. "Jack is not a New Zealander. Jack is Vietnamese = Jack không phải là New Zealand. Jack là người Việt Nam"

"Jack is not a doctor. Jack is a jackfruit = Jack không phải là bác sĩ. Jack là mít."

Fun over, we started to cut Jack to pieces.

Oh boy. What we didn't know was that jackfruit pith and skin contains a certain sticky substance referred to as "Jackfruit latex". This incredibly sticky and stretchy white goop does not come off without 10 minutes of washing and scrubbing.

Lena and Amberly got their fingers covered in it, and only then did I mention that a website I'd read (several actually) had suggested coating both the knife and your hands in oil before beginning. I didn't realize at the time just how sticky this stuff was. They tried paper towels; the towels came off and became just as stuck to their fingers as the sap. It was at this point I wondered if the weigh station lady had seen this coming.

Eventually we got to the nearest layer of fruit and had an awful shock: it was unripe.

Jack had stabbed us in the back (Fair enough, we had made fun of him and chopped him into pieces). Sorely disappointed, we chucked him in the bin. Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more!