The 'fish' that grows on trees
A UK plant-based meat start-up, Jack & Bry, has unveiled what it claims is the world’s first unbreaded jackfruit “fish fillet”, in collaboration with a seaweed harvester and farmer.
According to the company, all other comparable products use a coating to contain the jackfruit flakes.
In a press release, Jack & Bry said the fillet was achieved by using its jackfruit flavour composition and texture optimisation platform and The Cornish Seaweed Company’s organic seaweed, “which together accurately replicate the white, flaky texture of fish whilst re-creating an authentic seafood taste experience”.
A versatile fruit
After a launch at the Lewis Hamilton and Leonardo DiCaprio backed Neat Burger in London and the Harbour Lights restaurant in Cornwall, Jack & Bry intends to bring the product to more restaurants in the second half of 2022.
The fillet extends the Norfolk-headquartered company’s product range of jackfruit pepperoni slices, burgers and sausages. Its customers include Pizza Express, Papa Johns and online grocer Ocado.
“We’ve changed the minds of climate conscious pizza eaters and burger lovers with our jackfruit pepperoni and gourmet jackfruit burgers; we now want to focus our efforts even further, beyond land and into the ocean with our world’s first jackfruit fish fillet,” said Bryony Tinn-Disbury, Jack & Bry’s founder and chief executive.
The company is now speaking with multiple distributors throughout the UK to expand its fillet launch across more locations.
Sustainable crop
Jack & Bry – Jack derives from jackfruit and Bry from Tinn-Disbury’s first name – is not the only company using jackfruit to make meat analogues, reports vegan website Green Queen. Singaporean company Karana makes jackfruit burgers and Malaysian startup Nanka unveiled its hybrid jackfruit and meat burger patties last year.
In terms of environmental impact, growing the fruit presents little in the way of problematic consequences, says Green Queen. Trees do not require irrigation, nor any pesticides or fertilisers. As a crop, jackfruit can be grown with others, to create a regenerative eco-system, much like squash and legumes. It is considered environmentally superior to other popular meat alternative crops, such as soy.
When young and unripe, jackfruit flesh takes on a tropical flavour, but when fully developed, is neutral enough to act as a blank canvas for seasoning and is processed to recreate multiple meat products.
