Very closely related to Kamansi (Seeded Breadfruit), Kolo or Rimas (Breadfruit) (Artocarpus altilis) is a native of the Pacific Islands. It featured prominently as the cargo of Captain William Bligh in the Bounty, as in “Mutiny on the Bounty.†The Bounty’s cargo of several thousand breadfruit seedlings was 
destined for the Caribbean. The primary difference between Kamansi and Kolo is in the seeds; the latter has none. The easiest way to tell them apart is that Breadfruit has a smoother skin with polygons all over the surface; Kamansi has a sharper skin, more like a jackfruit. Breadfruit are what are known as compound fruit, with several distinct fruit or ovaries smushed together, similar to pineapples that have many eyes and are in fact many individual fruits pushed together. Breadfruit, are not surprisingly, also related to jackfruit.
Breadfruit must get its name from its extremely high starch content. It is a staple in some parts 
of the world. I have only had it fried but I have read that it can be baked, dried, boiled, ripened and made into desserts, etc. The tree behind our office in Cebu has been there for as long as I can remember and it must be a good 50+ years old. It is an impressive tree as it grows very tall and the leaves are huge and impressive. A few months ago I noticed that the tree was filled with small fruits and I wondered how long it would take to ripen….over 12 weeks I think! But last week they were at their peak harvesting phase, “guang†or “mature†they said, so I had some picked to bring them back to Manila. The fruit is picked before it ripens fully and the way they determine that is that some sap is visible on the prickly skin.
I am extremely familiar with this tree because we had a humongous one right outside our home in Makati when I was growing up. There was also the large tree at my grandmother’s home 
and breadfruit was abundant in my mother’s home town in Bohol. However, it turns out that many Filipinos are not familiar with the tree and it isn’t that easy to propagate or plant because it doesn’t have seeds. In fact, I have no clue how a new tree is planted if it isn’t marcotted… The same question for seedless grapes or papayas for that matter. At any rate, I overdosed on breadfruit as a kid so I don’t think I have eaten any for perhpas 30 years until last week…
35 Responses
This tree looks familiar as I’ve seen it in our school (when I was in College). I don’t have a clue what it was and funny that I didn’t even bother to ask. Now I know it’s rimas. I’ve eaten rimas when I was young as a candied fruit. It was steeped in sugar that I can only eat one piece. Nice to see how it looks as fresh fruit…first time I saw its inside!
i had these as a kid, boiled or fried, and since they tasted bland, we ate it with latik. made a nice merienda! :)
Fried and dipped in latik….oh I’m having some serious craving now.
Back in ilocos norte, we deep fried it eat it like french fries… salt and peppa! Yummy!
Colleagues from the West Indies, the destination of Captain Bligh’s boatload of breadfruit buds, are strangers to the seeded variety that we have and which we commonly cook with coconut milk. There are subtle differences between the two varieties in the pattern of their leaves which Paul Gaugin depicted in almost all of his work done in Tahiti.
Incidentally, it was the same Captain Bligh who brought a strange West African fruit to Jamaica where it is now called Ackee and cooked as an ideal accompaniment to saltcod along with grilled breadfruit. It is a dead ringer for fluffy scrambled eggs sans the dreaded cholesterol.
Apicio, yes, you are right that there are differences in the leaves, with rimas or kolo having deeper lobes and kamansi having more but shallower lobes and a thicker body to the leaf. I think both have a distinct yellow vein. I just did more searching and have figured out the propagation question. New plants are sourced by transplanting suckers that grow out of the roots. You can encourage the suckers byt exposing the roots or making root cuttings. Everyone else seems to have a pretty good guess of how I prepared the breadfruit once I got home… If the tree is allowed to grow unimpeeded, it is huge and majestic.
Marketman,
I don’t think I have eaten this fruit before? Ano ang tagalog name ng fruit na ito and how does it taste? Thanks a bunch….
rowena, I think it is RIMAS in Tagalog. When it matures, it doesn’t last for too long and I rarely see this in the markets here in Manila. Please check the following post for how it tastes.
kolo trees were all over our hometown in southern leyter where i grew up. this is an exciting tree for kids! the beautiful leaves can be fashioned, with just a few sticks, into red indian-like headgear. and the elongated young fruits (putut)can be worn as slippers after you get an adult to slice one side lenghtwise. squishy but fun!
i do not think people here in zamboanga eat kolo. and i bet if they did, they would call it by another name.
I remember one of my lola has a rimas tree andthis fruit is added by my lolas to lubi lubi. . . hmmmmm (if i am not wrong??) yup and frying this is yummy too
Hi MM!
I remember when I was still a kid Cagayan de Oro, our new kasambahay who hailed from Luzon was sent by my mother to buy 10 kgs. of KAMANSI in the market to cook with “gata” in her small carenderia. Our kasambahay actually bought 10 kgs. of ripening KALAMANSI.Hehehehehehe, napurga kami kaka-inom ng KALAMANSI juice as we had to consume it before all the fruits spoiled!!!
Rimas and kamansi were hardly ever sold specially in tiny towns where folks are somehow all related. It is like malunggay, sampalok or bayabas that you just go ask the owner for. In fact the owner would let you know when her tree is ready to harvest when you meet her in the marketplace.
Oh wow! Reminded me of my childhood! There was a rimas tree in our backyard! We used to cook this with brown sugar, not fried but boiled. It’s like kusilba. Yummy!
I love breadfruit.. should be fried and dipped in muscovado.
SARAP>> you can plant this tree but seedlings are expensive because they cannot propagate by seed. Costs something like P2,500 per plant.
I’m sorry Wilson, but what is lubi lubi? there is a folk song that has lubi lubi at the end…espcapes me now.
Manny, where exactly can we buy the breadfruit seedlings? We’ve been trying to find one. Thanks for the info
Maricel, you may want to try the plant shops at the Manila Seedling Bank in QC.
lubi lubi?? well it’s some kind of kakanin, i dont really know exactly how it is made but it is mashed using a “pambayo”. . . and yes the folk song “enero pebrero marso abril. . . .” has lubi lubi in the lyrics at the end. . . hehe . . . and I think lubi lubi is food for new year?? hmmm or I’m just used to seeing it prepared only at new year when I was a kid. MM do you know lubi lubi?
Wow, thanks, Wilson! I had to sing that mentally and you’re right! IIn Laguna we cook palitaw for new year…could it be palitaw? hmmm…
no, “palitaw” is made from rice flour, poached then dpped in coconut and sugar with sesame seeds. . . well that is what i know. . . :)
does anyone know the english name of “ugob”,as we call it here in bicol. its ike breadfruit but its skin has spines
thanks
I am starting a research with Kolo at Leyte University. Does anybody know if there are different varieties of kolo in Leyte? Where can I get some information of Kolo in Leyte? I am from Spain and I am not very sure how to proceed.
Thans!
Regards!
Nuria
Hi, I’m from Avon Park florida, USA and would like to get a seeded breadfruit plant. Any idea where I can purchase one?
Hello Nuria Rodriguez Lopez. Of course there are different varieties of kolo in Leyte. Acutally, I know a place in the Tuscany where you can find even more breadfruit, it’s called Piombino. I think it’s kinda typical there, a wonderful place..if you want more information we could meet in september, I have a lot to tell you about that. We could agree then some kind of physical payment..
hello, we’re doing a thesis about breadfruit and we’re having problems getting the fruit. What we got here is ‘kamansi’, not the breadfruit. San po ba kmi mkkakita ng breadfruit ngaun? In season ba xa ngaun? We really need help because we have to pass the thesis this coming october and we haven’t started yet.
jean, It is breadfruit season in the Visayas now. I haven’t found much breadfruit in Manila, so I wouldn’t know where to buy it. Kind of hard to do a thesis on breadfruit if you can’t buy it…
Can we substitute kolo for wheat flour?
Maryle, I have no idea…
yea i know. it’s just that my prof is insisting on it kaYA we don’t have a choice talaga. we’re really desperate now. =(
I live in American Samoa in Polynesia where Breadfruit is a staple food. It is found everywhere. People here eat the fruit in many different ways (like we do with rice) all year round. It is delicious. We Filipinos in the Philippines should learn how to cultivate the tree and its fruits as an alternative staple food especially for the poor in the urban areas. It can also be used as an alternative source of livelihood for farmers and business-minded people. After all, we Filipinos are creative and innovative. I just wonder why after all these centuries, we never took the Breadfruit seriously like the other Pacific islanders. And then, there’s another staple yummy food Pacific islanders love, the Taro.
When I was in high school, the madres in our school used to fry thinly sliced camansi and sprinkle it with some sugar until the sugar would start to caramelize. They would sell it at 2 pesos apiece.
where can i buy rimas? or breadfruit? or kolo?
am 2 weeks pregnant and I feel like eating fried rimas … pls help!!!!!
Hello i live here in Iloilo City Philippines and I have started what I call The Breadfruit Movement..I have tried various ways of propagating breadfruit and these have all failed except one: cut out roots that are as thick as your forefinger or like circumference of a fat black pencil into 8″ lengths…then stick it on prepared soil (meaning you should have dug a hole already, burnt some dried leave in it to sort of sanitize it, and filled it with compost-rich soil) about 30-45 degrees inclination, just like the way they plant cassava..then surround the hole with a sturdy 2′ high fence with fine mesh to prevent the flies that love biting on the tender shoots…wait for at least a month (pls water the root cutting diligently). When you see tender shoots don’t EVER touch the plant with anything…
Plus, i have many camansi (breadnut) seedlings. Camansi is so easy to plant because it is seed…but it is also very sensitive to wind and touch, and to the nasty fruit flies…if anyone out there is interested to join my movement for food of the future security my organization’s name is swamps and rivers…we shall advocate for the planting of breadfruit, breadnut, lumboy, and all other endemic evergreen fruit-bearing trees that are being decimated by charcoal “loggers”…e mail me at swamps.rivers@yahoo.com.ph…submit your biodata pls…these breadfruit and breadnut trees will hopefully also restore water abundance in my island province of Guimaras…thanks and best regards to you all…
Sweet rimas, brown and pyramid shaped was one of my favorite treats as a child. While seemingly dry outside it turns juicy sweet in the mouth. Even in the Philippines it is quite rare. As an adult I had to venture to Manila’s Chinatown to find it although occasionally a vendor in a public market may have it.
I suspect that sweet rimas is cooked by dipping it into a “kawa” or huge wok of cooking molasses or brown sugar also called “muscovado” in Negros. I am now in the US and am wishing I could taste sweet rimas again.