Kamansi or Seeded Breadfruit 
(Artocarpus camansi) is very closely related to but not the same as Rimas or Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis). I didn’t know that so maybe some of you didn’t either. Kamansi has sharper points on its skin, more like a jackfruit (another close relative) while Rimas has a flatter outer skin. Kamansi has soft seeds and Rimas has no seeds. I spied these unusual little Kamansi from an organic vegetable seller that I frequent and decided they looked too interesting to pass up. I brought home three small Kamansi and hoped that the cook had heard of these before… she had, good Boholana that she is, Kamansi and Rimas grew in abundance in her native Bohol. Kamansi are believed to be native to Papua New Guinea and possibly Indonesia and the Philippines.
When I was still a single digit (years, not fingers) kid 
I used to go with my mom to her ancestral home in the boonies of Bohol (4+ hours in a jeep to get there from Tagbilaran on a dusty coastal road but on a map it is just 80 kilometers!) and once ensconced there, we had to visit all of our relatives who then proceeded to whip out their finest snack of fried breadfruit locally called Kolo (not Rimas) with latik (a sugary sweet dip). As yummy as that was, having it 7 times in a row as we progressed down the main street at a languid late afternoon pace was enough to make me want to scream at the top of my lungs that breadfruit in fact gave me seizures that resulted in lesions that were contagious and unsightly… Then the next day we would have to do the other side of the street! Needless to say, I never ate breadfruit again for another 20 or so years…
Back at home, the cook peeled the skin of the small Kamansi 
(which she felt were picked too young by the way) to expose the whitish pulp and seeds. Boiled in a little water to cook the pulp, she added coconut milk, onions and ginger. Served as a vegetable, it was a bit like unripe jackfruit but softer and mushier. I didn’t particularly like it but it wasn’t bad. Maybe I just haven’t gotten over my breadfruit phobia just yet. At PHP50 for 3 pieces, this makes a very economical “vegetable†dish out of the Kamansi fruit. Sources: Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables by Elizabeth Schneider; Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson.
37 Responses
Market Man, ginagamit nang lola ko noon ang rimas sa denengding na may halong tinono na tulingan na isda,sarap lalo na pag makati ang katawan dahil sa nalaes na tulingan. he he he
Just a question,
Is this the same fruit used for the viand ginataang langka? Because I remember back in my home province my mom cooking ginataang kamansi (with dried dilis as sahog, and then living here in the Metro, buying this in the carinderia, hearing it being called ginataang langka. Same texture, same taste. I just got used to calling it ginataang langka, being here in the Metro for quite some time.
Rey, hindi pa ako nakatikim ng dinengdeng, subukan ko nga… Baldwin, langka with gata is similar in texture and taste, but I understand made with unripe langka (jackfruit). Same concept, but different base ingredient.
Thanks for the info! I’ve been quite a follower for some time (since you came out of Inquirer). I totally appreciate your way of giving a very global perspective on our local food. Congratulations and keep it up!
Our family usually substitutes kamansi to langka because it’s cheaper. And yes, Rimas and Kamansi are two different things. If you are familiar with pinasugbo, which they make with saging na saba, you might not know that the older people in Cebu made it with Rimas. I could imagine because Rimas has no seeds. My mom says it’s better than the saba version.
can I borrow the cook when I come for visit? Well this how exactly we at Cebu prepared this.. and while writing this to you many great memories of my childhood is flooding my brain and emotions. I didnt even remember the name until now.Thank you
curious lang. why the breadfruit phobia?
Just ate too much of it as a kid (refer to post) so I overdosed on it! :-)
In Kerala, India we chop the Kamansi(we call it Kadachakha)
into small chunks and boil it with salt till lightly cooked. Roughly smash some garlic pods, dried red chillies, shallots and curry leaves ( not sure if you get curry leaves in Manila)
Then you fry the smashed items in a little oil till lightly brown and a nice aroma comes. Then add the cooked kamansi and enjoy with rice.
In Kamansi flower, what is the element/s that can cause to kill the mosquitoes?
Thank you!
Roldan, I have no clue what the kamansi flower possesses that wards off mosquitoes…
Hi:
Do you have pictures of the leaves of seeded breadfruit and the unseeded kind. How can one diferentiate one from the other. We have two trees growing on our yard, but, they have not fruited yet.
Thanks for any info.
Victor, sorry, I don’t have leave photos. I, too, would be confused in a garden as well. I think the larger breadfruit or kulo has bigger leaves though the shape of the leaves is similar… I am in transit through Europe so I don’t have my reference books with me…when I get back remind me and I will try and look this up…thanks for visiting the site!
in kamansi flower, what can cause the mosquito die?
Kevin, you are correct that it can be used as a mosquito repellant, follow this link here https://www.ntbg.org/plants/plantresource_new3.php?plant=1007 but I am not sure I would understand nor care to know the exact ingredietns or components of the flower that would ward off the mosquitos… Leave a comment if you figure it out, I am curious but not enough to do the research myself…thanks for asking!
in kamansi flower,is there reaserchers that use kamansi as a mosquito repellent?
My student is conducting an investigation right now on the potency of camansi as anti-diabetic. Data showed lower sugar level to treatments with the plant extract.Do you have any idea what’s in it?
Joefig, all I know is that it has a high starch content, it is low in proteins, and many Vitamins so it is a lousy staple, except in countries where they eat it with lots of other nutritious things like fish…
hey is this what we call “ugob” in bicol? cause its our investigatory project,ugob seeds as flour can somebody help me wtih this
von, the only two similar fruits that I know of are breadfruit and seeded breadfruit and I see that you have seen both of my posts on these. I am not familiar with “ugob” so I can’t really tell what it is… If Ugob is like breadfruit but spiky like the photo above, then it is KAMANSI or SEEDED breadfruit which is slightly different from BREADFRUIT; they have different scientific names. I noticed your question to a Naga forum but I think the answer Autocarpus Altilis is incorrect if the fruit you are referring to is spiky and not flat scaly skin. And to identify further, BREADFRUIT does not have seeds. Wheras KAMANSI does have seeds… and since you are exploring a fruit with seeds…maybe this is it. The two fruit are very closely related, however; and relatives of the jackfruit as well.
hey can i have your email add and ill send you some pics. thanks
von, my email address is in the contact part of the site… it’s marketman@marketmanila.com
Hellerz….
its so delicious talaga ng ginataang kamansi..gus2 mo tumikim?marami kami dito…we need to have an investigatory project out of kamansi fruit.>
..,hai
natikim na ako ng ginataang kamansi but it’s not true na masarap……..mas masarap pa ang ginataang langka.
WAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! thanks for the info!!!!!!!!!!!!
i hav a question what are the benefits that we can get from this kamansi??????
and also what is the chemical compound/substances in kamansi????help me guyssss…pm me in my email ok!tnx
MM, Have you tried eating dinuguan with kamansi/dalungyan (In some part of Quezon)? Masarap! The seeds of matured fruit is similar to chesnut try it again.
MM Bakit walang kang data sa marang? Diba they belong to the same class?
Market Man sorry po, I just read ayaw mo pala nang dinuguan.
MM, the best na luto ng kamansi para sa akin is back way my father cooks it. Beef bones tapos i-simmer sa tubig,pakuluan at lagyan ng sibuyas.Pag tender na ang beef,ilagay na ung kamansi na chopped tapos lalagyan mo siya ng lubas or libas,as pampaasim.Timplahan mo ng patis or asin….Saraaaaappppp!!!!!
hi marketman,
i’ve seen kamansi trees but sadly haven’t tasted a kamansi dish yet. parang gusto ko tikman ung ginataan, mukang masarap! saan ba nakakabili nito? kasi sa markets n napupuntahan dito sa metro wala akong nakikita kamansi. been reading your posts about native fruits too, very informative with the pictures and all!
A Zamboangueño recipe: stewed (nilaga) salted wild pig (puerco de monte) meat with onions, ginger, kamanse, fresh ground pepper and some peppercorns, msg (omit if you dont like it), and patis. Yum!
I love to eat kamansi……….yeh
ang alam qoh po pesticides have the substance which we call pyrethrins.meon din po ba ang kamansi ng ganitong substance??
pinadalhan ako ng nanay ko ng sweet ‘rimas’, i got curious kung anong klase ba na prutas yun, i searched on the net and found this website. my mom also makes good ginataang langka with dried fish, pero i observed na marai na ayaw nun.. para sa kin masarap, lalo na pag may mainit na kanin.
hello guys!!im very curious about what are the composition of breadfruit flowers,.i have an assignment which is to prove that breadfruit flowers can be a good mosquito repellent.,but how can i solve and prove to them if i dont know yet or i dont have further knowledge regarding to that? please help me..
thank you!!
Buenas dias! In Zamboanga, the fruit of the kamanse is prepared as a cheap vegetable dish either cooked with coconut milk, shallots and lemongrass- the ginataan way, flavored with dried fish or shrimp anchovies; also as a soup-stew of shallots, garelic, tomatoes,black pepper and flavored with simmered-soft dried wild boar meat or pigs hocks. The young budding infantile fruits of kamanse are sun-dried by locals to be used as mosquito-repellant (burned like incense) similar in effectiveness as the common chemical ones.