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National Fruit – The Ackee (Blighia sapida)
(Courtesy of the J.I.S.)
 "Carry me ackee go a Linstead Market, not a
quattie wut sell" is a line in the popular Jamaican folk song ‘Linstead Market’.
Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica as well as a component of the national
dish – ackee and codfish.
Although the ackee is not indigenous to Jamaica,
it has remarkable historic associations. Originally, it was imported to the
island from West Africa, probably on a slave ship. Now it grows here
luxuriantly, producing large quantities of edible fruit each year.
Ackee is derived from the original name Ankye which comes
from the Twi language of Ghana. The botanical name of the fruit – Blighia Sapida
– was given in honor of Captain William Bligh of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame,
who in 1793 took plants of the fruit from Jamaica to England. Captain Bligh also
brought the first breadfruit to Jamaica. Before this, the ackee was unknown to
science. In 1778 Dr Thomas Clarke, one of the earliest propagators of the tree,
introduced it to the eastern parishes.
The ackee tree grows up to 15.24m (50ft) under favourable
conditions. It bears large red and yellow fruit 7.5 – 10 cm (3-4 in.) long. When
ripe these fruits burst into sections revealing shiny black round seeds on top
of a yellow aril which is partially edible.
There are two main types of ackee identified by the colour of the aril. That with a soft yellow aril is known as 'butter’ and
‘cheese’ is hard and cream-coloured. Ackee contains a poison (hypoglce) which is
dissipated when it is properly harvested and cooked. The fruit should not be
gathered until the pods open naturally. In addition, the aril must be properly
cleaned of red fibre and the cooking water discarded.
Jamaica is the only place where the fruit is widely
eaten. However, it has been introduced into most of the other Caribbean islands
(for example, Trinidad, Grenada, Antigua and Barbados), Central America and
Florida, where it is known by different names and does not thrive in economic
quantities. Jamaican canned ackee is now exported and sold in markets patronized
by expatriate Jamaicans.
Ackee is a very delicious fruit and when boiled and cooked
with seasoning and salt fish or salt pork, it is considered one of Jamaica’s
greatest delicacies.
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