Pineapples - The Well-Traveled Tropical Fruit (Good for You, Too!)

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Yup. The Pineapple is a Bromeliad! Now That You Know That. It's Enough To Know They Taste Good!

Pineapples. Members of the Bromeliad family.

Pineapples are from Hawaii, right? 


Pineapple Field, Hawaii


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Well, now you can get them there--but they are originally from south Brazil and Paraguay--where they were native before the local tribes and exploring Europeans started moving them around.

The local natives found them useful for trade with other tribes, so pineapples spread as a fruit source through South and Central America to the West Indies before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.

Columbus brought the fruit back to Spain in 1493 after finding the plant on the Carribean island of Guadalupe.
Pineapple Cut Open with Ships


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From then on, the pineapple spread around the world on Spanish and Portuguese sailing ships as a scurvy preventative.  The Spanish fleet eventually introduced the plant to the Philippines and Guam (when Magellan's fleet circumnavigated the world in 1521).

Although some historians think that pineapples could have arrived on the Hawaiian islands as early as 1527 on Spanish sailing ships from the New World--other historians theorize that pineapples arrived on the Hawaiian islands, when Francisco de Paula Marin, a Spanish horticultural experimenter arrived in Hawaii in 1794, after being forced onto a sailing ship from the Spanish port of San Francisco, California province, in the New World.

Marin became a friend and advisor to King Kamehameha I and is recorded to have experimented with growing pineapples on the islands in the early 1800s.


Fields of Pineapples Owned by Delmonte, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, USA


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During this time, the Europeans also worked on cultivating fruits with more desirable characteristics and introduced the pineapples to Australia and other parts of the world.

Pineapples had reached England in 1660 and because they didn't grow well in the colder European climates, they were eventually grown in greenhouses by 1720.

After Captain James Cook's fleet stumbled over the Hawaiian islands in 1778 and the islands became a regular stopping point for whaling ships--which would frequently carry pineapples as a scurvy preventative--some of the pineapples may have also made their way ashore to become a popular fruit on the Hawaiian islands.

They were first recorded by Andre Thevenet in 1555 to be called "nana" (from which their Genus name, "Ananas", is derived), which means "excellent fruit" in the Tupi language (tribe which lived around Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).  European explorers thought the fruit looked a lot like pinecones and its flesh resembled that of an apple... thus the name, "pineapple".

By the 1950s, Hawaii was the top producer of pineapples in the world--growing more than 80% of the world's supply. This crop was second only to Hawaii's production of sugar cane at that time.


Pineapple on Beach


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However, rising costs of labor have reduced both crops since that peak in the 1950s, when the Dole plantation alone had more than 20,000 pineapple-producing acres and more than 1000 workers--there had been eight pineapple growing companies on the islands--the production of pineapples has been steadily falling. Hawaii has lost its standing in pineapple production to ChinaThailand, the Philippines, and Brazil, the combination of which produce about 50% of the world's pineapple crop today. 

Hawaii's production now barely reaches about 2% of the world's crop, although Hawaii is still the largest producer of U.S.--consumed pineapples. The only other state that grows pineapples is Florida, but their gross production is negligible.

How To Cut a Pineapple! 

How to Cut a Pineapple

Jack Shows you the best way to choose the perfect pineapple and then cut it. Be sure to see his sauces at: http://TheBestSauces.com

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Varieties of Pineapples--Called "Cultivars" 

Pineapples--scientific name Ananas comosus and members of the family Bromeliaceae--have many different varieties.

Some of these varieties are called "cultivars". The term "cultivar" is derived from the words "cultivated variety"--and means a plant that has been selected for its desirable characteristics that separate it from others in the same species and that when propagated, it retains those characteristics.

There are wild varieties of pineapples that are not considered "cultivars". Wild pineapples are generally pollinated and produce seeds.

The most common pollinator of pineapple is the hummingbird--so in places where pineapple is cultivated on a commercial scale such as in Hawaii, importation of hummingbirds is illegal. Bat-pollinated wild pineapples do the opposite of most other flowers by opening their blooms at night and closing them during the day. This protects the pineapples from weevils, which are most active during daylight.

Pineapple with Hummingbird


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But since the presence of seeds produces lower quality fruit, commercially cultivated pineapples are grown from cuttings.

Here are the Most Popular and Common Cultivars:

Hilo--A compact 2 to 3 pounds and Hawaiian cultivar variant of the Smooth Cayenne. The fruit is cylindrical and produces many suckers but no slips.

Kona Sugarloaf--At 5 to 6 pounds, this cultivar has white flesh with no woodiness in the center. Cylindrical in shape, it has a high sugar content but no acid.

Natal Queen--At 2 to 3 pounds, this cultivar has golden yellow flesh, crisp texture and delicate mild flavor. Keeps well after ripening. Has spiny leaves.

Pernambuco (Eleuthera)--At 2 to 4 pounds, this cultivar has pale yellow to white sweet flesh. Has spiny leaves.

Red Spanish--At 2 to 4 pounds, this cultivar has pale yellow flesh and a nice aroma and has a square shape. Has spiny leaves.

Smooth Cayenne--At 5 to 6 lbs, this cultivar has pale yellow to yellow flesh. It is cylindrical and has a high sugar and acid content. This plant does not have spiny leaves. This Hawaiian fruit is the most common variety available in U. S. grocery stores and is the most common variety in the world markets. It has been successfully transplanted to Central America. The difference between the Hawaiian Smooth Cayenne and the Central American pineapple is golden tan or reddish-orange, while the Central American varieties are still green.

Champaka--This fruit is a subvariety of the Smooth Cayenne.

Del Monte Gold--This cultivar is a recent variety that has sweet, deep-yellow flesh and a subtle coconut flavor.

Maui Festival Hawaiian Pineapple 

Maui Festival Hawaiian Pineapple

Maui Pineapple Company hosts pineapple festival

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Pineapples--The Fruit! 

Pineapples are oval to cylindrical compound fruits that develop from many small fruits fused together. The fruitlets are arranged in two interlocking spirals--8 spirals in one direction and 13 in the other direction.
Pineapple in Market near Lake Atitlan, Solola, Western Highlands, Guatemala


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The resulting fruit is both juicy and fleshy with the stem serving as the fibrous core. The fruit can range from 10 to 14 inches long and weigh from 1 to 10 pounds.

Pineapples are a good source of manganese (91 %DV in a 1-cup serving), vitamin C (94 %DV in a 1 cup serving) and vitamin B1 (8 %DV in a 1 cup serving). They are also a good source of dietary fiber.

Pineapples contain a proteolytic enzyme called "bromelain" that breaks down protein. Therefore, pineapple juice is useful as a marinade and tenderizer for meat.

However, this pineapple enzyme can interfere with the preparation of other proteinaceous foods--such as dairy products, jelly or other gelatin-based foods. So, if you must used pineapple with any protein-based food and you do not want undesirable effects, use the canned and rinsed pineapple, but do NOT use fresh pineapple.

And, these enzymes can be dangerous for those suffering from protein deficiencies or disorders such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Another View at How to Cut a Pineapple... 

This is How You Slice a Pineapple

We bought a pineapple at a farmer's market in the big island of Hawaii, and the lady cut it for us.

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Okay... all this information about the fruit.... But What's the Best Way to EAT It? 

You can just cut the skin off the fruit, and make thin slices of it (called "pineapple spears"), you can cut the fruit into slices after you've "cored" it (which makes those "donut shaped" fruit pieces), or you can just cut the thing into chunks after you've skinned and cored it. After draining the chunks, you can mix them into fruit salads. And after you wash them briefly in fresh water, you can add them to Jello --but make sure you've washed them well, otherwise, the proteolytic enzyme in the pineapple chunks will mess up the Jello.

Or, you can get immensely creative with a few pineapples such as folks have done HERE.

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by EditorDave

Living on Guam is what now "defines" me.  It was such a dramatic difference in my life and outlook on things that there's no way I'd be the same...

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