Breadfruit/Rimas

Breadfruit or “Rimas” is a wonderful fruit because it doesn’t taste sweet like most fruits are but instead tastes like potatoes when cooked that’s why to me it is a vegetable. It is called “ulu” in Hawaii. The tree is in the family of mulberry tree that’s why you can use the wood bark as fiber like the native “tapa”. It grows tall with indented leaves which Hawaiians used as one of the designs in quilt-making. The native Hawaiians also used the sap from the tree as caulk when making or building a boat. The fruit is green when young and turns golden yellow when ripe.
Typically, we cooked breadfruit for breakfast or snack. We either boil, fried or broil the fruit and then served with fresh grated coconut and sugar. It tasted really good with sugar and coconut. That’s how I remember eating it when I was growing up.

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