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'Ulu is the Hawaiian word for breadfruit. Breadfruit is a perennial tree that grows around the tropics. It produces a starchy fruit thats about 1-4lbs on average. One tree can produce anywhere from 250-1,000lbs a year of nutritious food and do so for 75-100 years with little maintenance.
Breadfruit gets its name from when it is freshly cooked, it smells and resembles freshly baked bread. Most say it taste like potato. Breadfruit is high in iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, thiamin, niacin, vitamins, dietary fiber, and complex carbs. It's naturally gluten free and has a low-medium glycemic index. It has great versatility in the kitchen as it can be baked, steamed, roasted, fried, and used in many dishes. It is even dehydrated and used to make gluten free flour!
A big step for food security in places that rely on imported foods One tree can feed a family of 4 for 70 years. They require little attention and care while producing an abundance of nutritious food. The trees help to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide and work perfect for agro-forestry, being able to grow in harmony with many other food crops. They are also beautiful to look at!
Breadfruit originated in New Guinea. From there it spread by voyaging peoples through the pacific. Europeans discovered it in the 1500's and were astounded by how much food it could produce. They also started to propagate it around the world through the colonial era, mostly in the caribean area. You can now find breadfruit all around the world from Coasta Rica, Jamacia, India, Indonesia, and about 80 other countries.
The Polynesians, being an ocean faring exploratory people always made sure to travel with 'Ulu. Once they found new land, they would plant it and in a few years they would have a solid new food source. 'Ulu has been a staple in the Hawaiian diet ever since. Though, in the past 100 years it has been lost to cheaper imported starches. This has caused Hawaii and other island nations to become food insecure. 85-90% of Hawaii's food sources are now imported.
Creating delicious products out of these locally grown fruits. We buy from local farmers that come straight to our faclitity where we produce, package and distrubute all from right here in Hawaii. We take pride in being able to utilize old world staple crops and translate them for the modern palate. Putting a new spin on this fruit will help it to be further understood and appreciated.
Cultivating products that are made from locally grown and sustainable crops helps us create more food security for Hawaii as well as cut down on the demand for importing food at an unbalanced scale.
The Breadfruit Institute:- Promoting the conservation, study, and use of breadfruit for food and reforestation. Link
Hawaii 'Ulu Co-op: - Committed to building a network of small scale diversified farms on Hawaii Island that grow breadfruit and want to improve community access to this nutritious fruit. Link
Global Breadfruit:- Food security for a growing world.Link
