Chempedak Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Chempedak

Scientific classification
Genus:	Artocarpus
Species:	integer
Synonyms
Artocarpus champeden (Thunb.) Merr. Artocarpus polyphema Pers.

The Artocarpus integer, often called chempedak or cempedak, is a type of tree. It belongs to the Moraceae family, just like breadfruit and jackfruit. This tree originally comes from Southeast Asia.

Cempedak is an important plant in Malaysia. It's also grown a lot in southern Thailand and parts of Indonesia. While it's mostly found in Southeast Asia, some trees also grow in Australia and Hawaii.

What Cempedak Looks Like
- The Fruit
How Cempedak is Grown
How Cempedak is Used
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What Cempedak Looks Like

Cempedak trees are large evergreen trees. This means they keep their leaves all year round. They can grow up to 20 meters (about 65 feet) tall. However, most cempedak trees are usually around a dozen meters tall.

These trees are monoecious. This means they have both male and female flowers on the same tree. There are many different kinds of cempedak, but only a few have special names. A healthy tree can produce lots of fruit once or twice each year.

The Fruit

The cempedak fruit is called a syncarp. This means it's a fruit formed from many flowers. It can be shaped like a cylinder or a ball. The fruit is usually 10 to 15 cm (4-6 inches) wide and 20 to 35 cm (8-14 inches) long.

The skin is thin and feels like leather. It can be greenish, yellowish, or brownish. The skin has a pattern of raised bumps or flat spots.

Inside, the fruit has fleshy, edible parts called arils. These arils surround large seeds in a thick layer. You can eat the arils raw, or you can cook them in different ways. They are yellowish-white to orange. They taste sweet and smell nice. The texture is soft, slippery, and a bit fibrous.

Ripe cempedak fruit has a strong smell. Some people say it smells harsh, like the durian fruit. The taste is similar to jackfruit and breadfruit, with a hint of durian. The seeds are also edible. They are flat and round or long, about 2–3 cm (1 inch) long.

Cempedak is quite similar to jackfruit. However, cempedak fruits are smaller than jackfruit. Also, the stem that holds the cempedak fruit is thinner. The male flowers of cempedak are pale green to yellow. Jackfruit male flowers are dark green. When ripe, cempedak flesh is a darker yellow and juicier.

How Cempedak is Grown

Growing Conditions

Cempedak trees usually grow in good soil that drains water well. This helps prevent erosion. However, they can handle being flooded for a short time. Cempedak can grow from sea level up to 1,200 meters (about 3,900 feet) high. They like temperatures between 13-47 degrees Celsius (55-117 degrees Fahrenheit). They also need a lot of rain, about 1,250 to 2,500 mm (49-98 inches) each year.

How They Are Planted

In Malaysia, cempedak trees are often planted with other fruit trees. Small farmers grow them in mixed orchards. Sometimes, they are grown in large fruit farms.

Farmers often use a method called bud-grafting to plant new trees. This helps make sure the new trees have the same good qualities as the parent tree. Trees can also be grown from seeds. But the seeds go bad quickly after they are taken out of the fruit. So, they must be planted right away after cleaning.

When They Flower and Fruit

Trees grown from seeds start to produce fruit when they are 3 to 6 years old. Trees grown by cloning (like bud-grafting) start fruiting earlier, at 2 to 4 years old.

In southern Malaysia, blossoms often appear from February to April and again from August to October. In western Java, cempedak usually flowers in July and August. It takes about 2 to 4 months for the flowers to turn into ripe fruit.

Harvesting the Fruit

Picking the fruit at the right time is very important for good quality. One good way to know if a cempedak is ready is to tap it. If you hear a dull, hollow sound, it's likely ripe. The skin color also changes from green to more yellow when it's ready.

Another sign of ripeness is the strong smell, similar to durian. Also, the small bumps on the fruit's skin become flatter. It's best to pick the fruit before it falls. This prevents damage and helps the fruit last longer. After picking, the fruit releases a sticky liquid called latex. Farmers leave the fruit in the field to drain before moving it. Cempedak fruit only stays fresh for about 2 to 3 days.

How Cempedak is Used

People love cempedak for its edible, soft flesh. It's usually yellow or orange and full of beta-carotene. Cempedak has a unique sweet taste, a bit like durian and mango.

The fruit is usually eaten in the areas where it grows. You can eat it fresh or cooked. Large fruits are often cut into pieces and sold. The seeds can be fried, boiled, or grilled. Then, you peel them and eat them with salt. The seeds taste a bit like water chestnuts.

Young cempedak fruit can be used as a vegetable, just like young jackfruit. To prepare it as a vegetable, the young fruit is peeled, sliced, and boiled. Sometimes it's seasoned or added to other dishes, like curries.

In Borneo, the skin of the cempedak can be made into a food called mandai. To make mandai, the fruit skin is peeled until it looks white. Then, it's soaked in salty water to preserve it and make it soft. Mandai is usually eaten after being fried.

The wood of the cempedak tree is strong and lasts a long time. It's used to build things like home furniture or boats. The fibrous bark can be used to make ropes. You can also get a yellow dye from the wood.