Appearance & Taste

The Pineapple fruit is an oval fruit which range from 6 to 8 inches long and weighs from 1-10 pounds or more. It has spiky, robust leaves at the top of the fruit and the skin of a pineapple is tough, waxy and scaly, which is usually green, brown, and yellow in colour.

On the inside, the pulp of the pineapple is juicy and fleshy, which is coloured yellow to white and has a sweet, juicy and mouth watering taste.

Where It Comes From

Pineapples like a lot of sun and grow well in tropical regions around the world. Pineapples for the fresh market are grown in Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Hawaii, Thailand, the Philippines, China, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Ecuador to name a few.

Health Benefits

Pineapple’s main benefits come from bromelain, an effective enzyme (Bromelain is particularly useful for reducing muscle and tissue inflammation and is also used as a digestive aid).

In addition, pineapples are fat-free, very low sodium, cholesterol-free and high in vitamin C.

Uses

Apart from being eaten fresh:

• It is added to fruit salads, pies, cakes, ice cream, yogurt, punches, and other desserts.
• Dried and crystallized pineapple is eaten as a snack or added to desserts.
• Bromelain is extracted from pineapples to form bromelain tablets, which are supplied within health shops.
• Pineapple cookies are a common dessert in Hawaii.
• The pineapple is an old symbol of hospitality and can often be seen in carved decorations.
• To make juices
  

Fruit Facts

• While pineapples are thought to have originated in South America, they were first discovered on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe by Christopher Columbus in 1493.
• Most fruits develop in 3 to 4 months, but pineapples take about 18 months to grow!
• You can grow your own pineapple plant. Firstly cut off the top of your pineapple and dry out for several days. Then Plant in some soil and see if your plant grows.
• The natural (or most common) pollinator of the pineapple is the hummingbird.

How to prepare to eat

1. Choose pineapples that are plump, not soft, and smell sweet.
2. Place the pineapple on its side on the cutting board and slice the stalk off.
3. Next cut off the top of the pineapple (just where you cut the stalk off) and the bottom of the pineapple
4. Then stand the Pineapple up and cut the skin off the sides in strips. Continue, till you have cut off all the skin.
5. You will now be able to see all pulp but also some divits left. Remove these with a potato peeler.
6. Now, place the pineapple on its side on the cutting board, and start cutting slices. The thickness of each pineapple slice is up to you. Continue till it is all sliced.
7. Finally take a slice firmly in your hand, begin cutting around the core. Some pineapples have soft cores that can be eaten, but most of the time it will be pretty hard. This now forms a pineapple ring. Do this with the rest of the slices and they are now ready to eat.