Tips for Eating...
Before you eat a pineapple, break the top off and turn the pineapple
upside-down on a plate. Then place it in the refrigerator over night. The sweetest
juice is in the bottom of the pineapple and when you turn it over, it
flows through the entire
pineapple! If your pineapple has an acid bite to it,
sprinkle a little salt on it to sweeten the taste.
Origin of the Pineapple...
The pineapple is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur. It was spread by the Indians up through South and Central America to the West Indies before Columbus arrived. In 1493 Columbus found the fruit on the island of Guadaloupe and carried it back to Spain and it was spread around the world on sailing ships that carried it for protection against scurvy. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines and may have taken it to Hawaii and Guam early in the 16th Century. The pineapple reached England in 1660 and began to be grown in greenhouses for its fruit around 1720.
Varieties of Pineapples
Hilo
A compact 2-3 lb. Hawaiian variant of the Smooth Cayenne. The fruit is more cylindrical and produces many suckers but no slips.
Kona Sugarloaf
5-6 lbs, white flesh with no woodiness in the center. Cylindrical in shape, it has a high sugar content but no acid. An incredibly delicious fruit.
Natal Queen
2-3 lbs, golden yellow flesh, crisp texture and delicate mild flavor. Well adapted to fresh consumption. Keeps well after ripening. Leaves spiny.
Pernambuco (Eleuthera)
2-4 lbs with pale yellow to white flesh. Sweet, melting and excellent for eating fresh. Poorly adapted for shipping. Leaves spiny.
Red Spanish
2-4 lbs, pale yellow flesh with pleasant aroma; squarish in shape. Well adapted for shipping as fresh fruit to distant markets. Leaves spiny.
Smooth Cayenne
5-6 lbs, pale yellow to yellow flesh. Cylindrical in shape and with high sugar and acid content. Well adapted to canning and processing. Leaves without spines. This is the variety from Hawaii, and the most easily obtainable in U. S. grocery stores.
Stages of Ripeness
Pineapple links from the U of Hawaii
More
Pineapple Facts - California Rare Fruit Growers Organization
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