Te ‘uru: The breadfruit

Apology of a fruit

Originating in Oceania, breadfruit is well before the coconut, the key to the nutritional survival of the South Pacific island populations. But also, more recently, much of the tropical belt.

This feeder tree has been present in Oceania since plural millennia and in this region is found the largest number of varieties. There are several tens of very different species, each adapted to a particular ecosystem.

'Uru, a majestic tree

Thus, for the only French Polynesia, we identified more than fifty varieties under the name of 'uru or maiore.

A colonizing tree

It's, certainly and primarily, due to the fruit of this exceptional plant that Pacific island nations were able to survive and grow in this marine community so rough,  over thousands of years.

'Uru or a vegetal pantry

It was not until the late eighteenth century and the South Pacific return journeys so that the breadfruit tree landed in the Caribbean, becoming the staple food of the slave populations.

In trying to bring it back to the West Indies in 1789, William Bligh's Bounty suffered the mutiny now become legendary.

Then the Europeans introduced in dribs and drabs some varieties (cultivars) in most tropical regions: Madagascar, Africa, Central and South America...

'Uru picking at Mayotte

Today it’s ubiquitous in humid tropical regions, both for its food and aesthetic interest.

Caution, however, so does the breadfruit as coconut: if its cool shade is particularly appealing, it’s best not to dawdle underneath. Indeed, a falling of several kilos can be extremely dangerous for the fragile skulls...

Te 'Uru: the tree of thousand names

No doubt, largely thanks to the fruit of this exceptional plant the island populations of the South Pacific are able to outlast and endure through the centuries in these lands not always so idyllic.

The Astocarpus rima incisus blanco

In Melanesia, the seeded-species are the most common, whereas in Polynesia, the seedless forms predominate. In this case, the tree is propagated by suckers.

Up to thirty meters high, it provides a dense, cool shade. These characteristics added to the interest of its fruits explain that it was adopted unanimously as easily and in as many different places around the planet.

Thus, if the official surname of breadfruit is Artocarpus altilis (Moraceae family), 'Uru or Maiore in French Polynesia means the tree and the fruit.

An 'Uru's life...

If the most Polynesian languages called it 'uru, it answers to the sweet names of fouyapen or fwiyapen in Martinique and Guadeloupe Creole, vouryapin in Comoros, momboya in Lingala,  friyapin in Reunion and Mauritian Creole and lamveritab (real tree) in Haitian Creole. And I just remembered buju in Jamaica marron language and beta in Vanuatu.

Te 'a'ai' o te tumu 'uru or 'uru legend

At that time, Nohoari'i was king of an unknown island in the world.

‘Uru's father was Ruata'ata, a native of Raiatea. His marae was Toapuhi and his wife, Rumauarii was from Ahunoa marae. Four children were born of this union.

At a period, the famine-stricken islanders could eat only that red earth. Seeing their children starve, Ruata'ata and his wife took them to inland, in a small cave where they survived by feeding ferns.

The feeder shaft of Polynesian islands

One evening Ruata'ata told his wife: "Rumauarii! Tomorrow, when Thou art wake up, thou art alone with the children. Then thou hast to get out of the cave and discover a tree. Thou hast to seek my hands, they'll be the leaves of this 'uru. Thou hast to see the trunk and the fork of the tree, it will be my body and my legs. Finally, thou hast to look at the beautiful round fruits, it'll be 'uru, get off my head. The heart of the fruit will be my tongue. Thou hast to take and bake. Thou hast to skin it, and grind flesh, Thou hast to remove the core, and thou hast to nourish our children until they are well filled. "

And therewith, Ruata'ata left the cave shelter, dug a deep hole a few meters away and buried himself, leaving out his head and arms above. His wife, perplexed, remained with children.

At daybreak Rumauarii got up, went out, and saw that the place was shaded by a magnificent tree. All that her husband had said was there. Ripe fruits even rested around under the tree.

She understood the meaning of the words of her husband. With grief, she gently took these fruits, did bake them the wood fire, and when they were cooked just right, carried them to the river and followed the instructions of her husband. So she was saved with her children.

One day the king's servants, went on fishing eel and shrimp along the river, saw the heart and 'uru skin, drifting into the stream. They took and ate the flesh rests that were above. "This is a delicious food! But where did it come from? "

An 'uru just picked 

Then they went up at the bottom of the valley, got to this gorge, and there, the majestic posture of an unknown tree appeared to them.

A woman stood beside. They asked her, "What is this tree?" Rumauarii, for it was her, replied:" It's 'uru." "Where have you been provided?" "It comes from my husband, Ruata'ata. He turned into a fruit tree to stop the tears of our hungry children. "

This was the day when the little valley was named Tua'uru.

'Uru  in cooking

If the raw fruit is inedible, there is a multitude of ways to prepare 'uru.

'Uru, in full cooking for a large Ma'a Tahiti

It can be ground into flour, but more often it's cooked over a wood fire. Even if it's in a Tahitian oven (or ahi ma'a) that it offers the tastiest flavors.

The method most frequently used in Polynesia cooking is the wood fire. Although, nowadays, more and more often, it’s placed directly on the burners of a gas cooker to save time.

'Uru right out of fire

'Uru is ready to be picked and eaten when white sap streaks appear on his green skin. Then let remove its cock and let stand overnight at least, upside down, for draining its sap. Some varieties, however, are to be cooked immediately after harvest.

Do, with a knife, a few notches on each pole of the fruit in order to prevent bursting during cooking. Thereafter, directly deposit your 'uru on the fire and cook for approximately thirty minutes on each side by turning it occasionally. It's baked when a thin layer of gray ash forms on the skin. Before serving, remove its thick skin, now transformed into coal.

Eat!

Once well cooked, the 'uru can be served not further prepared, but washed down with coconut milk for example. We can also cut it into thin strips to make fries, or crush to get a puree.

The pōpoi

It would be impossible to conclude the inexhaustible culinary chapter about 'uru, let alone the pōpoi. It's a paste made from the cooked flesh of the fruit. It was stored sometimes for several years, to face the times of scarcity, which weren't so rare on these heavenly islands.

Pōpoi pantry in the Marquesas

To keep the pōpoi dough, it was coated in banana leaves and buried in cavities dug into the rock which are closed as tightly as possible with a stone slab.

Wrote by the navigator Alain Gerbault: "The pōpoi is a fermented dough of the breadfruit drupe, kept underground, wrapped in leaves. It emits a strong odor similar to that of our most fermented cheeses and few Europeans can't become accustomed to. It's the main food of the natives." Nowadays, the pōpoi is no longer thereby retained. And if it's yet prepared, what happens more rarely, it's consumed in the days after its making, usually for the big meals or tāmā'ara'a.

As a conclusion

About this tree as beautiful as generous, able to live hundreds of years, it was also necessary to mention the quality of its very dense wood with many uses (cooking utensils, dugout, through weapons, and plow tools). But it would devote an entire article!

A plate of pōpoi with coconut milk... Good appetite!

By cons, it's not possible to conclude this article without regret that this fruit, wonderful and accessible to all, without particular agricultural work, was replaced in the Polynesian dishes by overtaxed and very expensive imported products. So much so that it completely disappeared from the market stalls. Only few small vendors hastily still sell it at the roadsides.

Yet it would not be so complicated, for example, to get it on the school canteen menu to make our children the pleasure of Polynesian flavors...

An article of Julien Gué

Translated from French by Monak

Copyright Julien Gué. Ask for the author’s agreement before any reproduction of the text or the images on Internet or traditional press.

Prune Cythère

Un fruit polynésien marginalisé ?

Plaisir des enfants des îles-de-la-Société, car elle pousse anarchiquement sur le bord des chemins, la prune Cythère se consomme encore verte ou couleur abricot quand elle est mûre.

Désignée communément sous le nom générique de vī tahiti qui s’applique plus particulièrement à la pomme Cythère, elle s’en distingue par sa taille et son noyau.

Une feuille composée pennée

Parmi les nombreux fruits de ces tropiques insulaires, la prune Cythère ne figure que rarement sur les marchés polynésiens. Cependant elle participe de la vie sociale, car à maturité elle est largement partagée entre voisins.

Dans la culture océane des archipels du Pacifique Sud, la convivialité est une valeur pérenne : pas de récolte individualiste dans les vallées. Le cadeau des denrées de la terre s’échange sans attente de retour ou contre un sourire. Ô peuple bienheureux !

Une variété indigène

Présent en même temps que l’implantation originelle de la population mā'ohi, le prunier de Cythère essaime au 18^ème siècle, d’abord à la Réunion sous le vocable d’évi puis sous d’autres tropiques, notamment aux Caraïbes. L’une des rares espèces arboricoles à feuillage caduc en saison sèche, l’arbre peut atteindre une vingtaine de mètres mais est productif dès ses trois ans.

Des fleurs en panicules

En même temps que sa floraison en panicules blanches, d’avril à août, il perd ses feuilles composées pennées et alternes, passant du vert au jaune. La fructification, de septembre à mars en principe, peut chevaucher le stade floral.

Le fruit, ovale, d’environ 6 à 8cm, se présente en grappes à longs pédoncules et pendantes à mesure qu’elles grossissent. D’un diamètre de 3 à 6 cm, la prune Cythère est pulpeuse. Légèrement acide elle devient juteuse et de saveur musquée à maturité. Le noyau est fibreux, hérissé et piquant.

Un fruit « pour des prunes » ?

Se reproduisant souvent par semis spontanés, le petit fruit millénaire n’accuse pas actuellement une notoriété fulgurante en Polynésie française. Malgré des appels d’offre sous toutes les latitudes, l’Europe en particulier, pour sa purée ou son jus,  la prune Cythère ne s’inscrit même pas dans les 80% de la production fruitière locale. C’est l’archipel de la Société qui en fournit l’essentiel avec ses ananas, ses agrumes et ses pastèques. Mais c’est la république dominicaine qui l’exploite à l’international avec beaucoup de bonheur.

Des fruits en grappes

Pourtant, rituellement, il faisait partie du quotidien de ces navigateurs océaniens pour son fût et sa sève adhésive, dans la construction des pirogues à balancier. Quant aux drupes vertes, aux jeunes feuilles, à l’écorce aux vertus astringentes, aux racines et aux nouvelles pousses, elles entrent encore dans les compositions médicinales traditionnelles : en diurétique, en gargarisme (angines) et dans l’ordinaire journalier, pour les vitamines et les sels minéraux qu’elles dispensent. 

Après le CEP, et donc l’ouverture à la mondialisation, la prune Cythère a quasiment disparu des confiseries bon marché, avec le bonbon chinois, concurrencé par les sucreries chimiques occidentales.

Au petit bonheur de la maturation

Cependant elle reste encore courante en famille : en tranche avec du sel, finement goûteuse, je confirme. Elle entre aussi dans la confection des salades quand elle est ferme et verte et agrémente savoureusement les desserts. Quant aux tendres et minuscules feuilles de son toupet, elles aromatisent les entrées. Que de bouquets diversifiés s’en dégagent ! En Polynésie, manger ne se départit pas de charme olfactif.

La fièvre des Caraïbes

Sur l’autre façade du continent américain, du côté des Antilles, les Prin citè en créole, font la une des formules gastronomiques industrielles ou domestiques. Les jus de prune Cythère, les granites, les mousses et les marmelades font les délices des desserts. Ferme, croquant, mariné dans le vinaigre, le fruit devient condiment, en Asie où il peut être utilisé, cru, comme légume.

À peine mûr, cuit avec du sucre, le fruit entier se conserve dans son sirop. Épluché, en morceaux on en réalise des confitures. Séché, bien mûr, il acquiert les vertus du pruneau. Toute une variété de pâtisseries, tartes, génoises se distribue les sapidités de la prune Cythère.

Un noyau hérissé

La liste serait incomplète si n’était évoquée sa macération et sa mise en bouteille sous l’appellation Fruité des îles, un vin moelleux et sec de Martinique. Parfumer des alcools comme le rhum reste à votre discrétion, bien entendu avec gousses de vanille. Par ici, en Polynésie, j’ai entendu parler d’un cidre de prunes Cythère. Mais chutt ! C’est un secret de famille bien gardé. Quant aux eaux acidulées faites maison, avec un soupçon de sucre, quatre prunes pelées infusant, la nuit fait son office.

Une prune, un mythe ?

Dame nature polynésienne étant prolixe, il est encore de nombreux fruits clandestins et énigmatiques à dénicher au creux des vallées reculées. Le retour à la nature, mais aussi l’engouement écologique, continue d’alimenter les recettes-bio de ces explorations. Mais pas seulement. Le mythe de la fécondité végétale provient aussi de ce rythme climatique où aucune saison ne la fait hiberner.

Alors, le terme de Cythère pour une prune se confirme-t-il ? Bougainville en 1768 baptisa Tahiti du nom de Nouvelle-Cythère dans son Voyage autour du monde. En référence à l’île de Cythère, paradis voluptueux de Grèce antique, qui aurait abrité la naissance d’Aphrodite, déesse de l’amour…

De jeunes pousses qui mettent le bouquet

Mais ceci est une autre histoire… de fruit défendu. Et je ne me ferais pas « secouer les prunes », même pour une manzana de oro, une pomme d’or… autre nom de la prune Cythère sous d’autres cieux.

Un article de  Monak

Tous droits réservés à Monak. Demandez l’autorisation de l’auteur avant toute utilisation ou reproduction du texte ou des images sur Internet, dans la presse traditionnelle ou ailleurs.