red pear-shaped tropical fruit with poisonous seeds; its flesh is poisonous when unripe or overripe.

The ackee fruit is bright red. When ripe, it bursts opens to reveal three large black seeds and bright yellow flesh. The flesh of the ackee is popular as a breakfast food throughout Jamaica; when cooked it looks and tastes much like scrambled eggs and is usually served with “ saltfish.” Ackee's scientific name, blighia sapida, comes from Captain Bligh, who introduced the plant to Jamaica. Ackee is poisonous before it is fully mature, and an ackee pod should never be forced open; it will open itself when it ceases to be deadly. A handful of islands grow ackee as an ornamental tree, but only Jamaica regards the fruit as an edible crop; in fact, it is the Jamaican national fruit. bammy A fried (or toasted) cake made from flour or meal produced from the cassava, a tuber also known as manioc or yucca. Served with fried fish. We found these “interesting.

Ackee (Blighia sapida) The ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and one half of the national dish – ackee and saltfish. Boiled, seasoned, and combined with salted cod it is considered one of the islandâ€(tm)s greatest delicacies. In fact, Jamaica is virtually the only country where it is widely eaten. The ackee bears large red to yellow fruits which, when ripe, will burst into three sections revealing shiny black, round seeds atop a bright yellow aril which is the part eaten. The colour of the aril helps to identify the two main varieties; that with a soft yellow aril is popularly called ‘butterâ€(tm) and the hard, cream coloured aril called ‘cheeseâ€(tm). Ackee contains a poison (hypoglycin) which is dissipated when it is properly harvested and cooked. Care must be taken that the ackee is not gathered until the pods open naturally; the aril must be properly cleaned of red fibre and the water in which it is boiled must be discarded.