NowThis Food, a subsidiary of the popular Facebook page NowThis, recently posted a video about a "bizarre" fruit that apparently mimics pulled pork, going so far as saying that it tastes like meat.

Jackfruit

It's not even some kind of new fruit that will propel us into culinary culture circa year 3018, actually.

It's just the humble tropical jackfruit.

That's right, the fruit commonly grown at community gardens and sold at fruit stalls is getting popularised as a vegan substitute for meat.

Which is weird, because for most of us, we are pretty sure jackfruit tastes like a cross between mango, pineapple and banana... basically, nothing like meat.

Tastes like meat if cooked like meat

But before you go down to your nearest fruit store to see whether your taste buds have deceived you for the last 20 odd years, relax, that's not it.

Rather, the reason why anyone would claim that is probably confusion on their part.

For the texture of the fruit to be similar to that of pulled pork or shredded meat will require the unripe fruit to be prepped and cooked before actually tasting anything like meat.

This confused some viewers, which led to people on the Internet helping to (hilariously) clarify that there's no such thing as a meat-tasting jackfruit.

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Not a vegan miracle fruit

There's nothing wrong with people discovering fruits and food from beyond their shores.

However, comments seem to better describe the jackfruit's currency (or lack thereof) than NowThis Food's video.

For example, in the video, it's noted that it's "commonly used instead of meat in India" and it absorbs flavours well, sounding like it's appealing to new vegans.

The online comments in response, however, said that it isn't meant to be an all-in-one vegan wonder food, and neither can it really be eaten for its properties as a meat replacement, despite it's supposedly high protein content.

Perhaps it might have been better to tell the jackfruit's story from the perspective of locals who have been eating the fruit for years before it became a vegan fad.

Pricey and often sold in cans

Getting fresh jackfruit is probably a bit of a challenge in the west.

A quick search on Amazon US reveals mostly canned jackfruit available for sale, which means most of these would be soaked in syrup or brine.

They can cost anywhere from US$5.99 to US$28.99 for a pack of six jackfruit cans, before shipping and handling.

Despite this, it may not necessarily be a sizeable obstacle.

If people are willing to pay for fancy cold-pressed "Guarapo" (sugarcane) juice, you'd probably find one guy buying US$30 worth of jackfruit.

Other food items Westerners have since "discovered":

Top image adapted via vasanthkumar on Pixabay, and NowThis Food's Facebook video.