Ackee
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The ackee (Blighia sapida), also known as acki, akee, or ackee apple, is a fruit of the Sapindaceae (soapberry) family, as are the lychee and the longan. It is native to tropical West Africa.<ref name="morton">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="GRIN">Template:GRIN</ref> The scientific name honours Captain William Bligh who took the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, in 1793.<ref name=morton/> The English common name is derived from the West African Akan-language name Template:Lang.<ref name="language">Template:Cite book</ref>
Although having a long-held reputation as being poisonous with potential fatalities,<ref name="Isenberg_a">Template:Cite journal</ref> the fruit arils are renowned as delicious when ripe, prepared properly, and cooked<ref name=jam/> and are a feature of various Caribbean cuisines.<ref name=morton/> Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and is considered a delicacy.<ref name="jam">Template:Cite web</ref>
Botany
Ackee is an evergreen tree that grows about 10 metres tall, with a short trunk and a dense crown.<ref name=morton/> The leaves are paripinnately,<ref name="features">Template:Cite book</ref> compound Template:Convert long, with 6–10 elliptical to oblong leathery leaflets. Each leaflet is Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide. The inflorescences are fragrant, up to 20 cm long, with unisexual flowers that bloom during warm months.<ref name="description">Template:Cite book</ref> Each flower has five greenish-white petals, which are fragrant.<ref name=morton/><ref name="description2">Template:Cite book</ref>
The fruit is pear-shaped and has three lobes (two to four lobes are common).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book Template:Page number needed</ref> When it ripens it turns from green to a bright red to yellow-orange and splits open to reveal three large, shiny black seeds, each partly surrounded by soft, creamy or spongy, white to yellow flesh — the aril having a nut-like flavour and texture of scrambled eggs.<ref name=morton/><ref name="features"/> The fruit typically weighs Template:Convert.<ref name="features" /> The tree can produce fruit throughout the year, although January–March and October–November are typically periods of fruit production.<ref name=":0" />
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Leaves, upper and lower surface
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Fruit as it splits upon ripening "smile"
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Showing ripe fruit and seeds with their arils
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Part of ripe fruit, two seeds with their arils still attached
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Ripe seeds with their arils (dorsal view and in longitudinal section)
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Cultivars
There are up to as many as forty-eight cultivars of ackee, which are grouped into either "butter" or "cheese" types.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> The cheese type is pale yellow in colour and is more robust and finds use in the canning industry. The butter type is deeper yellow in color, and is more delicate and better suited for certain cuisine.<ref name=":2"/>
History and culinary use
Imported to Jamaica from West Africa before 1773,<ref name=morton/><ref name="jis">Template:Cite web</ref> the use of ackee in Jamaican cuisine is prominent. Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica,<ref name=jam/> while ackee and saltfish is the official national dish of Jamaica.<ref name="NatGeo">Template:Cite web</ref>
The ackee is allowed to open fully before picking in order to eliminate toxicity. When it has "yawned" or "smiled", the seeds are discarded and the fresh, firm arils are parboiled in salted water or milk, and may be fried in butter to create a dish.<ref name=morton/> In Caribbean cooking, they may be cooked with codfish and vegetables, or may be added to stew, curry, soup or rice with seasonings.<ref name=morton/>
Nutrition
Ackee contains a moderate amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fat,<ref name=morton/> providing 51–58% of the dry weight of the arils as composed of fatty acids – linoleic, palmitic, and stearic acids.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The raw fruit is a rich source of vitamin C.<ref name=morton/>
Society and culture
The ackee is prominently featured in the Jamaican mento style folksong "Linstead Market". In the song, a market seller laments, "Carry mi ackee go a Linstead market. Not a quattie worth sell".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Beat's 1982 album Special Beat Service includes the song "Ackee 1-2-3".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Toxicity
The unripened aril and the inedible portions of the fruit contain hypoglycin toxins including hypoglycin A and hypoglycin B, known as "soapberry toxins".<ref name=Isenberg_a/><ref name="Isenberg">Template:Cite journal</ref> Hypoglycin A is found in both the seeds and the arils, while hypoglycin B is found only in the seeds.<ref name="features"/> Minimal quantities of the toxin are found in the ripe arils.<ref name=":1">Template:Citation</ref> In the unripe fruit, depending on the season and exposure to the sun, the concentrations may be up to 10 to 100 times greater.<ref name=":1"/>
These two molecules are converted in the body to methylenecyclopropylacetic acid (MCPA), and are toxic with potential lethality.<ref name="Isenberg_a" /> MCPA and hypoglycin A inhibit several enzymes involved in the breakdown of acyl CoA compounds, often binding irreversibly to coenzyme A, carnitine and carnitine acyltransferase I and II,<ref name="Clinical Significance of Carnitine Function">Template:Cite book</ref> reducing their bioavailability and consequently inhibiting beta oxidation of fatty acids. Glucose stores are consequently depleted leading to hypoglycemia,<ref name="Clinical">Template:Cite book</ref> and to a condition called Jamaican vomiting sickness.<ref name="morton" /><ref name="Isenberg" /> These effects occur only when the unripe aril (or an inedible part of the fruit) is consumed.<ref name="morton" /><ref name="Isenberg" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Though ackee is used widely in traditional dishes, research on its potential hypoglycin toxicity has been sparse and preliminary, requiring evaluation in well-designed clinical research to better understand its pharmacology, food uses, and methods for detoxification.<ref name="sinmisola">Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 2011, it was found that as the fruit ripens, the seeds act as a sink whereby the hypoglycin A in the arils convert to hypoglycin B in the seeds.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In other words, the seeds help in detoxifying the arils, bringing the concentration of hypoglycin A to a level which is generally safe for consumption.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Commercial use
Ackee canned in brine is a commodity item and is used for export by Jamaica, Haiti and Belize.<ref name=":3">Template:Citation</ref> If propagated by seed, trees will begin to bear fruit in 3–4 years. Cuttings may yield fruit in 1–2 years.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />
Other uses
The fruit has various uses in West Africa and in rural areas of the Caribbean Islands, including use of its "soap" properties as a laundering agent or fish poison.<ref name=morton/> The fragrant flowers may be used as decoration or cologne, and the durable heartwood used for construction, pilings, oars, paddles and casks.<ref name=morton/> In African traditional medicine, the ripe arils, leaves or bark were used to treat minor ailments.<ref name=morton/>
The seeds were formerly used as standardized weights for weighing gold dust, leading to the currency issued by Great Britain in the former colony of Gold Coast to be named the "Gold Coast ackey".<ref>Template:Cite Merriam-Webster</ref>
Vernacular names in African languages
| Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bambara | finsan | akee apple |
| Kabiye | kpɩ́zʋ̀ʋ̀ | akee apple |
| Yoruba | iṣin<ref name=YorubaFruits>Template:Cite journal</ref> | |
| Dagaare | kyira | |
| Ewe | atsa |