Taste a local wonder
On Maui? Sample the starchy, sweet and versatile ulu.
HANA, Hawaii — Before I was asked to judge the breadfruit cook-off at Hana’s weeklong Festivals of Aloha in October, I had never sampled the fruit, a member of the fig family.
Ulu, as it is called in Hawaiian, is a 3-pound globe with green patchy skin, a cross between a potato and a banana. The fruit’s tough exterior belies a starchy interior that is creamy sweet when overripe.
The breadfruit tree, one of the “canoe crops” brought to Hawaii by Polynesian explorers, grows on Maui’s lush mountainsides and has offered shade and sustenance for centuries. Because ulu grows easily in the tropics and can be used as a starch or a sweet, its proponents believe it can feed the world’s hungry.
But there I was in Hana, with some of Maui’s top chefs, farmers and foodies to sample local residents’ creative uses for what many are calling the next wonder food.
The crowds began to gather around the tables filled with breadfruit in all its incarnations — kimchi, enchiladas, soups and salads, and pies and cakes. What was most notable about ulu was that, like tofu, it didn’t dominate a dish. The fruit adds texture, thickness and, more important, protein and carbohydrates necessary for a healthful diet, said Ian Cole, manager and curator of the National Tropical Botanical Garden’s Breadfruit Institute in Hana.
The next day, at Cole’s invitation, I toured the Breadfruit Institute at Kahanu Garden, which manages the world’s largest collection of breadfruit trees (the garden has 285, with 120 varieties from 43 Pacific islands) as part of its initiative to promote its use for food and reforestation.
Maui chefs are beginning to notice ulu’s qualities too. At the open-air Kauiki Dining Room at the upscale Travaasa Hana resort, executive chef Derek Watanabe steams, then bathes young breadfruit in vinegar, oil and lemon before offering it to diners as a crunchy salad.
At Mama’s Fish House in Paia, diners are treated to lobster guacamole paired with ulu chips. And Merriman’s in Kapalua and Wailea’s Monkeypod Kitchen serve John Cadman’s Pono Pie, a luscious dessert showcasing the sweetest breadfruit.
Before leaving the island, I followed Cole’s suggestion and visited the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens in Kahului, where abundant ulu trees grow. As part of its mission to protect Maui’s plants, it offers workshops on how to make tapa cloth, surfboards and poi-pounding boards all from the leaves and wood of ulu trees.
I popped into Maui Coffee Roasters for a last-minute bag of beans, where I noticed a specials board touting Cadman’s Pono Pies. I grabbed a slice of pie to go, because now that I had tasted breadfruit in all its glory, I couldn’t pass up the chance for just one more bite.