A source of healthy food from a beautiful Hawaiian tree growing in your own garden or a community garden — now that is a gift worth giving (or receiving)!
Ulu, or breadfruit, is something we should grow and eat more of in Hawaii. Hawaii cooks have so many creative and delicious ways to prepare this healthy staple starch.
Unlike white rice or potatoes, it does not spike your blood sugar, making it an ideal food for diabetics. So many dreaded diseases are associated with our modern diet of overly processed, fast food and junk food.
All could benefit from eating more simple, wholesome Hawaiian starches. But kalo can require a lot of work to cultivate, harvest and properly prepare. Ulu is an easy tree to grow, harvest and tend — much easier than kalo.
Ulu is a gorgeous and productive tree. After it fruits for the first time, you can prune it and keep it fairly small for easy picking. It’s always safer to stand on the ground and harvest fruit with a pole picker. Hire an arborist to help prune your tree correctly.
If you don’t have a garden, consider participating in a community planting of ulu trees. We have been helping plant them at schools, churches, community centers, hospitals and other places where people can grow and harvest them cooperatively.
You can also give a contribution to the Breadfruit Institute as part of your gift giving this holiday season. The institute is part of the nonprofit National Tropical Botanical Garden.
Diane Ragone is director of the institute. Ragone, who holds a doctorate in horticulture, has been studying, growing, perpetuating and sharing knowledge about ulu for more than 30 years. Find out more about the institute and its work by visiting ntbg.org/breadfruit/ donate/plantatree.php.
Food security is another issue that we face in the islands. We need to grow more of our own food and some of the ideal trees for this are ulu, coconut and avocado. All of these are loaded with healthy fats and could help see us through a natural or manmade disaster.
Breadfruit is a starchy, gluten-free, energy-rich carbohydrate. It is a good source of fiber and rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. Ulu also provides niacin, thiamin and riboflavin (B vitamins), vitamin C and carotenoids.
Check with your local nursery or garden shop to purchase a plant.
Heidi Leianuenue Bornhorst is a sustainable landscape consultant specializing in native, xeric and edible gardens. Reach her at heidibornhorst@gmail.com.
