a brief HISTORY OF
PINEAPPLE
by Philip McIntosh
Much loved worldwide , pineapples have gone from a status fruit for the wellto-do , to one with a wide variety of uses across the globe . Piña coladas , anyone ?
Hundreds of years ago , any newly encountered fruit tended to be referred to as an “ apple .” Some examples : peach = Persian Apple , tomato = love apple , potato ( not a fruit ) = earth apple , etc . The original “ pineapple ” was what we now know as the “ pinecone .” So it seems that whenever the pineapple was seen for the first time by European explorers , it got the apple moniker by botanical default ( and because it kind of looked like a pinecone ).
If the seed-bearing structures of some pine trees were not so conical in shape , perhaps we ’ d still be calling them pineapples and we ’ d know today ’ s pineapple as something else . The pineapple plant , Anasus comosus , is a perennial monocot , thus making it a distant relative of corn , wheat , barley , and the grass in your front lawn ( assuming you haven ’ t xeriscaped it ). Pineapples are members of Bromeliaceae , the bromeliad family , which becomes obvious if you compare the appearance of the pineapple plant to that of a horticultural bromeliad such as an earth star or — interestingly enough — one of the “ pineapple ” bromeliads , also of the genus Anasus . The thick leathery leaves emanate in a rosette from a base , with occasional side shoots . The stem grows a flower spike that produces many small flowers that each form a fruit , which then fuses to form a collective or multiple fruit . The little fruitlets grow in a spiral pattern that follows the famed Fibonacci sequence , with eight going in one direction and thirteen going in the opposite direction . A similar pattern can also be seen in the whorled arrangement of florets and seeds in a sunflower head . Pineapples originated in the area bordering current day Brazil and Paraguay . From there it was spread by humans throughout the rest of South America and up into Central America . Evidence suggests the pineapple has been cultivated for at least 3,200 years . Explorers introduced pineapples to Europe in the 1400s where it became a symbol of affluence since the only way to get one then was by import from the New World . It is now grown in many tropical countries and has proven to be well-adapted to greenhouse cultivation . Even after greenhouse production was developed it remained a status symbol since it took wealth to construct and operate a greenhouse .
Although the pineapple is associated with Hawaii , where both Dole and Del Monte established plantations starting in around 1900 , large-scale production there diminished due to competition and improved shipping methods from other locales . Pineapples are now only produced for local consumption in the island state . Even so , people still assume a Hawaiian pizza will have pineapple slices on top . As far as world-wide fruit production goes , pineapples come in at around tenth place ( tomatoes are number one ) but they fare a little better when the category is narrowed to “ tropical ” fruit , coming in third . About 30 million tons of pineapples are grown yearly with Brazil , Costa Rica , and the Philippines being the biggest producers . About half of the world ’ s production is shipped to Europe . So , what can you do with a pineapple besides slice it up and put it on a pizza ? Juice is an important product , either alone or mixed with other fruit juices such as orange or mango . In Mexico you ’ ll find sliced pineapple sold at small stands where is it put on a stick and covered with lime and chili powder . Canned or fresh pineapples find use in smoothies , fruit cocktails , embedded in jello , or for snacking as is . Did I mention piña coladas ? The taste is sweet but citrusy with a bit of a sour kick at times . Interestingly , unlike many other fruit , pineapples do not ripen much after they are picked , so the harvest must be pretty well-timed .
From a nutritional standpoint , fresh pineapple is relatively low in calories so you can eat a lot without fear of overdoing it . It ’ s a good source of vitamin C and the B vitamins , copper , and manganese , but pretty low in everything else . So next time you need a fruity snack , slice up a spiny pineapple for a tropical treat .
48 Maximum Yield