The breadfruit tree can live up to 100 years and produce more than 2,000 pounds of fruit each season. It’s been a staple in the tropics for generations and can be made into chips, waffles, and porridge. This episode will dive into how it’s eaten in Puerto Rico and Hawai’i. Plus, a bit about its dark history in the slave trade. We’re talking about Mike McLaughlin from the Trees That Feed Foundation, Mike Opgenorth from the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawai’i, Juliane Braun, who wrote a paper about breadfruit’s role as an 18th-century superfood, and Von Diaz, a cookbook author and esteemed food writer.

Topics covered in this episode:

 


Min 0:31: Meet Von Diaz

Min 1:43: What is breadfruit and why is it important in the tropics?

Min 2:56: Meet Mike McLaughlin

Min 5:13: Agroforests

Min 8:04: Challenges of planting breadfruit trees that last

Min 10:47: Meet Mike Opgenorth

Min 11:42: Breadfruit across the Pacific

Min 15:53: Ways to cook breadfruit

Min 17:57: Surprising nutritive qualities

Min 20:35: Meet Juliane Braun

Min 21:06: Breadfruit’s dark past in the Caribbean

Min 24:15: Human adaptability to food



Climate Cuisine is part of Whetstone Radio Collective. Learn more about this episode of Climate Cuisine at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at /WhetstoneRadio.

Guests: Mike McLaughlin (@treesthatfeed), Mike Opgenorth (@ntbg), Von Diaz (@cocinacriolla), Juliane Braun