It can smell like rotting onions and the skin has a leathery texture.

But jackfruit is seeing soaring demand in the UK as a meat-alternative for vegans and vegetarians.

When cooked, the Asian fruit – which can weigh up to 110lbs – resembles the texture of meats such as pork and beef.

The fruit – often seen as unappetising in the countries where it grows – has now begun to rival traditional meat substitutes such as tofu, Quorn and the wheat gluten-based seitan.

Its appearance on menus has coincided with the growing number of vegans in the UK – estimated at 3.5million.

Leading supermarkets and restaurant chains have pounced on its foodie appeal.

When cooked, the Asian fruit – which can weigh up to 110lbs – resembles the texture of meats such as pork and beef

Unable to be grown commercially in the UK, jackfruit – the largest fruit grown on a tree – is imported in cans or frozen and can be eaten dried.

Before being opened jackfruit can produce an odour like onions, but the flesh smells sweet inside.

Each fruit contains multiple yellow-coloured edible bulbs, while its seeds can be ground into flour.

Waitrose has launched a £3.19 vegetarian jackfruit biryani and £4.79 vegan hoisin jackfruit parcels, as well as selling canned pieces of the fruit in brine.

Sainsbury’s has its own-brand sweet & smoky BBQ pulled jackfruit for £3.

Leading restaurants have also followed the trend, with Gourmet Burger Kitchen last week launching a ‘jack in a bun’ jackfruit burger.

Pizza Express also uses the fruit, which comes from the same family as the fig and mulberry, on its vegan puttanesca pizza.

It has been heralded as a ‘miracle’ food crop because of its abundance in the countries where it grows, while often being under-used.

In countries such as India, where the jackfruit is thought to have originated, cultivation has slowed in recent decades as it is often seen as undesirable and a ‘poor food’.

In some areas of the country, up to 75 per cent of the jackfruits produced every year are said to go to waste.

But its recent upturn in polarity in western countries is thought to have sparked a production increase in India’s most southerly state, Kerela, the world’s largest jackfruit supplier.

The fruit is grown across south-east Asia, as well as in Thailand, the Philippines,Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

Earlier this year, food critic Jay Rayner referred to jackfruit as the ‘latest hip, unconvincing replacement for meat’.