Very interesting fruit. As we were doing our usual Sunday morning grocery shopping, we saw a can of "Ackees" in the "International Food" aisle. Of course, I had to look it up. I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon. lol
Ackee Fruit: Deadly and DeliciousAckee is a tropical fruit native to West Africa, where it is known as akye, but it is legendary in Jamaica. Brought to the Caribbeans in the 18th century, it is the National Fruit of Jamaica and one half of Jamaica’s signature dish, ackee and saltfish. Ackee is a member of the Sapindaceae family, an extensive family also referred to as soapberry. Species within this family include the tropical fruits lychee, longan, and guarana, and an additional 2000 others. But none of these have a history quite like the ackee, and it starts with its scientific name.
The ackee, Blighia sapida, is named after the individual who brought specimens from the Caribbean to the famed Kew Gardens in London in 1793, one Captain William Bligh of “Mutiny on the Bounty” lore. [This fact was confirmed to me by one of Kew Gardens excellent Librarians. Thank you very much.]
In Jamaica, and other islands throughout the Caribbean, the ackee fruit grows on evergreen trees that can reach 50 feet tall (~15 meters). The fruit itself are pods, grown in clusters, that ripen from green to red, and are harvested when the pod splits open. Once open and mature, the seeds, numbering from three to five, are clearly visible. Not all of the fruit is edible, though. Only the fleshy arilli covering the massive black seeds are used. The seed pod and seed are discarded. The arilli are tender, so they are typically added to the dish last, and cooked through when the cream colored ackee turns yellow.
(I read elsewhere that it resembles scrambled eggs)
If you’re in the United States, go look for some fresh ackee. Go ahead, I’ll wait. So unless you found some being sold by a shifty looking character behind the International Market, you struck out. That’s because importation of ackee is banned by the FDA (1). The ban even extends to most canned ackee products. The only way to have it legally imported is by the manufacturer getting it “green listed” by the FDA, meaning that it has already been vetted as safe.
Safe? As in it there is a probability of it being un-safe? Most definitely. Only it isn’t so much a probability, rather a surety. You see, there’s this thing called Jamaican vomiting sickness (JVS), and it’s pretty self explanatory. The illness starts within 2-12 hours of consuming unripe ackee, or its pods or seeds. Symptoms include vomitting, loss of consciousness, and seizures. Without immediate supportive care, death can result. In a three month period of 2001 in Haiti there were 60 cases of poisoning due to ackee, resulting in 36 deaths (2). So the threat is very real.
http://naturespoisons.com/2014/03/24/ac ... delicious/