Jamaican Ackee

What is ackee?

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica. It originally comes from West Africa. Other names for the fruit and plant are aki or aki plum. Together with saltfish (stockfish preserved with salt), it forms the national dish of Jamaica.

Advantages

• Ackee is vegan and brings variety to the vegan lifestyle, e.g. as a hearty substitute for scrambled eggs for breakfast.
• Ackee is rich in linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid, fiber, vitamin C and niacin.

What does ackee taste like?
Ackee is a special fruit. Although it is related to the lychee and looks like it would be sweet, ackee tastes much more like what it is, a vegetable. The freshly picked fruit is hard, the black dot on each fruit is the seed, which must be removed before cooking.

Ackee for the vegan diet

When cooked, ackee actually resembles scrambled eggs in its pale yellow color and creamy, tender texture, although its mild, savory flavor is often compared to almonds or chickpeas. The best combination with ackee is baby spinach or callaloo (Jamaican spinach), as well as bell pepper, onion, garlic, or (vegan) bacon.

Preparation recommendation

Carefully drain the ackee from the can in a sieve and only heat it up when processing. Do not stir vigorously if you want to keep the structure. Always add the ackee to the other products used (e.g. vegetables) at the end.