Jackfruit
Our customers use jackfruit because of its unique texture, versatility, and growing popularity in plant-based products. When unripe, jackfruit has a fibrous, meat-like texture that makes it an effective substitute for pulled pork, chicken, or other shredded meats in vegan and vegetarian foods. When ripe, it becomes sweet and is used in desserts, beverages, and snacks. Jackfruit is also a good source of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, supporting health-focused marketing claims. It is commonly processed into canned, frozen, dried, or packaged forms, which improve shelf life and make it easier to use in large-scale manufacturing. Overall, jackfruit allows companies to create innovative, plant-based and globally inspired products that appeal to modern consumer trends.
Jackfruit can be supplied as organic upon request
Botanical: Artocarpus Heterophyllus
The World’s Largest Tree-Borne Fruit
Jackfruit is a large tropical fruit that grows on the jackfruit tree, native to South and Southeast Asia – the fruit is commonly processed into jackfruit puree for food and beverage manufacturers. It is one of the largest tree-borne fruits in the world, often weighing up to 80 pounds or more. The fruit has a thick, green, spiky outer skin and contains multiple pods of yellow flesh inside, each surrounding a seed. Jackfruit has a fibrous texture and a mildly sweet flavor when ripe. The tree grows in warm, humid climates and produces fruit directly from its trunk and branches. It has been cultivated for centuries and is a staple food in many tropical regions.
The jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a tropical evergreen tree native to South and Southeast Asia and a member of the Moraceae (mulberry/fig) family. Holding the distinction of being the world’s largest tree-borne fruit—frequently reaching weights between 10 and 40 kilograms—the jackfruit is a composite fruit comprising hundreds of individual fleshy, golden-yellow bulbs (fleshy perianth arils) that enclose individual seeds, surrounded by non-edible fibrous carpellary rags and a thick, knobby green rind.
In industrial fruit ingredient processing, it is essential to distinguish between culinary applications:
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Ripe Sweet Processing Cultivars (Golden / Honey Varieties): Processed exclusively at full physiological maturity, when the firm, fibrous arils soften into succulent, honey-yellow bulbs with exceptionally high natural sugar density (18.0° to 24.0° Brix), moderate acidity, and an intense concentration of tropical volatile fruit esters (principally ethyl isovalerate and propyl isovalerate). This sweet, ripe fruit is milled into smooth puree for beverages, dairy, and confectionery.
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Young Green Jackfruit vs. Ripe Jackfruit: Young, unripe green jackfruit is harvested when the flesh is neutral in flavor and fibrous in texture, utilized primarily as a savory plant-based shredded meat substitute. In contrast, jackfruit puree is derived exclusively from tree-ripened, intensely sweet fruit, designed to deliver tropical flavor, natural viscosity, and golden color.
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Puree Processing & Seed Isolation: Commercial processing lines isolate the succulent yellow bulbs from both the central fibrous core (“rag”) and the inner seeds. The arils are passed through precision mechanical finishers (0.020″ to 0.033″ mesh) to eliminate tough fibers, resulting in an ultra-smooth, creamy, seedless jackfruit puree.
Brothers International partners with origin processors equipped with custom-engineered mechanical deseeders and automated pulp lines. These systems remove the sticky, natural latex resin inherent to the jackfruit pericarp without letting latex compounds contaminate the juice or pulp stream.
Global Sourcing Through the Brothers International Network:
Jackfruit trees flourish in warm, humid equatorial and subtropical climates with deep, alluvial, well-drained soils and abundant annual rainfall. Because ripe jackfruit is massive, heavy, and exudes natural latex during manual handling, field preparation and immediate facility processing are essential to maintain flavor and prevent microbial spoilage. Brothers International connects North American food and beverage manufacturers to premier tropical processing basins through our established network of audited suppliers.
We source high-grade jackfruit puree from leading tropical origins:
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Southeast Asia (Vietnam & Thailand): Vietnam (the Mekong Delta and Dong Nai province) and Thailand (Chanthaburi and Rayong) represent the world’s most advanced processing corridors for ripe sweet jackfruit. Origin facilities operate high-capacity automated peeling, pitting, and aseptic packaging lines directly adjacent to contracted plantation acreage.
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South Asia (India): The botanical birthplace of the jackfruit and the world’s largest producer. Indian processing facilities supply high-solids traditional honey varieties, including USDA Organic certified jackfruit puree formats.
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Indonesia & the Philippines: Secondary tropical sourcing hubs providing strategic harvest diversification and high-viscosity purees for international food brands.
By coordinating supply across Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Indonesia, Brothers International insulates your manufacturing facility against localized monsoon disruptions, regional crop failures, and ocean freight bottlenecks.
Harvest Cycles & Continuous Supply Management:
In tropical equatorial zones, jackfruit trees produce fruit across multiple overlapping cycles throughout the year. In Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Thailand), the primary harvest peaks from March through July, with a secondary harvest window running from September through December. In South Asia (India), peak harvesting occurs from March through August.
Managing these tropical processing windows and international cold-chain logistics is a core competency of Brothers International. Our operations and logistics teams oversee multi-quarter inventory allocations, temperature-monitored maritime shipping, USDA/FDA import clearances, C-TPAT supply chain security, and strategic warehousing across North America. Whether your facility requires frozen 5-gallon pails for pilot R&D batches or aseptic 55-gallon drums for commercial manufacturing, our network guarantees ready inventory year-round.
Rigorous Quality Control, Traceability & Compliance:
Processing jackfruit into commercial jackfruit puree requires strict technical oversight, specifically regarding the complete mechanical elimination of internal seeds, separation of the gummy latex sap, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) deactivation to prevent discoloration, and consistency of Bostwick viscosity. Every supplier within the Brothers International network undergoes a comprehensive auditing process to guarantee complete supply chain traceability, sustainable agricultural practices, fair labor standards, and strict compliance with USDA, FDA, and international food safety standards.
Through our network, we deliver jackfruit ingredients backed by complete technical documentation and top-tier industry certifications, including GFSI benchmarks (BRC, SQF, FSSC 22000), USDA Organic (NOP), Kosher, Non-GMO, and Halal standards. Our quality assurance protocols include testing for seed fragments, particle fineness, Bostwick flow rates, pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbiological safety (Salmonella and Listeria negative), titratable acidity, and Brix adherence.
The Brothers International
Quality Promise
Brothers International and its 4 divisions, Brothers Ingredients, Dennick Fruit Source, Hosh International and Food Partners, are trusted global importers of premium ingredients to major food and beverage manufacturers in North America. We deliver consistent quality and supply across every format the industry demands. Our Jackfruit is sourced from the earth’s prime growing regions where farming expertise, climate and soil composition come together to produce Jackfruit of exceptional caliber. All of our suppliers undergo a rigorous vetting process to ensure we work with only the highest-quality processors and can fully guarantee traceability, sustainability, and compliance with all international regulations.
Each of our divisions has a specialized operations team to manage shipments and coordinate with customers and suppliers. They work closely with our in-house customs team to ensure efficient clearance, and collaborate with the USDA and FDA to maintain full regulatory compliance. This ensures your ingredients move seamlessly through every stage of import, arriving on time and ready for production with complete confidence. With decades of sourcing expertise and a strong commitment to customer success, you can count on Brothers International to deliver the premium ingredients your products require.
Industry Glossary
A Reference Guide for Fruit Ingredient Terminology
Check out our glossary for a consolidated reference of commonly used terminology across the global fruit ingredient industry. It provides straightforward definitions and context for the language and concepts referenced throughout the industry.
