‘Asia loves jackfruit’: Britain's Guardian newspaper told to stop maligning ‘silky-sweet’ delicacy

Jackfruit. A near-miraculous, versatile source of nourishment, or a “gross-looking lump of fibre – fat, spiky and green”?

Well, that depends on whether you are reacting to its increasing use as a meat substitute by vegans in Britain, or defending it as an integral part of your country’s culture, it would seem.

Last week, British newspaper The Guardian published a piece by columnist Zoe Williams who eviscerated the national fruit of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as a “spectacularly ugly, smelly … pest-plant” which people consumed “only if they had nothing better to eat”.

“This is one of the most offensive bits of food writing I have read in a while, and trust, there is a lot of competition on this front,” Vindhya Buthpitiya, a researcher at University College London, wrote on Twitter.

The Guardian article came just weeks after London-based chocolatier Paul Young caused outrage online for comparing the lingering taste of another Asian favourite – durian – to the enduring damage done by domestic abuse.