By Dr. Rita Fabbri
... The Pineapple is a plant that already Maya, Aztecs and Incas knew and cultivated. Christopher Columbus had seen this fruit in Guadeloupe in 1493. The natives of South America called it "nana", the Portuguese "ananaz", then pineapple in Italian, French and German; for the Spaniards it was the "piña" for its resemblance to a pine cone: hence the English term "pine apple". In the 16th century the Spanish writer Fernandez de Oviedo defined the Pineapple as "the most beautiful woman in the world of plants" in reference to the beauty and goodness of the fruit.
At the beginning of the 1700s the cultivation in the greenhouse of the Pineapple took place in Europe and above all in England and France: the fruit was very appreciated even if it had prohibitive costs. In the early nineteenth century, the Pineapple found its ideal habitat in Hawaii; it is not known who brought this plant to the islands, perhaps Captain James Cook or the Spanish explorers who ate Pineapple very often during navigation, because it was rich in vitamin C which protected them from scurvy. Soon the Pineapple became the symbol of Hawaii, where it was called "ha lakahiki" which means "foreign fruit" and was hung in front of the houses to welcome.
The first high quality canned pineapple industry appeared around 1900 in California, it was the Del Monte.
Currently the great productions of Ananas are found above all in the tropical zones and in Europe; it is the most consumed canned fruit ever.
Pineapple can also be sold in cans in the form of juice or syrup, or in slices in a dried form. Fresh pineapples are available on the market at any time of the year; to obtain this the fruits are harvested in advance, so that the taste and smell are very different from those of the fruit ripened on the plant: it seems that the sugar content in the Pineapple can double in a single night; particularly sweet and fragrant are the small Pineapples of Moorea in Polynesia.
When buying pineapple, you should avoid the fruits that have the peel between the green-gray or brown outer lozenges: in the first case they are unripe, in the second they are too ripe. The peel must be shaded orange and the fruit must have a light characteristic aroma. The pineapple should not be kept at a temperature below 8 ° C but should be served chilled, perhaps flavored with a maraschino liqueur or with rum.
In the most sophisticated recipes the Pineapple is associated with fatty meats, poultry and salads. This fruit is widely used in the preparation of cakes, pastries, ice cream, sorbets and fruit salads; pineapple jam is ideal for filling rolls, brioches and crêpes ...
 | Botanical name : Pineapple sativus Schult. f. ( sin. Ananas comosus L. Merr.) Family : Bromeliaceae Parts used : fruit stem |
Botanical description
The origins of the Pineapple are in South America, between Paraguay and Brazil. It is an evergreen perennial plant with green-gray, sword-shaped, arched and pointed leaves that form a thick rosette.
There are a hundred varieties of pineapples but they can be grouped into four groups:
- Cayenne, from Hawaii, to this group belongs the "Smooth (smooth) Cayenne" which represents the most widespread variety. The fruits have the typical cylindrical shape and are very large (they can even exceed 3 kg), pale yellow in color, with a very sweet taste, very suitable for canning.
- Spanish, of Caribbean origin, the "Red Spanish" belongs to this group. The fruits have an orange peel, the pulp is a bit fibrous but very aromatic.
- Quenn, cultivated mainly in Africa. The fruits are rather small (about 1 kg), with yellow flesh and intense aroma.
- Abacaxi is grown almost exclusively for fresh consumption and sold in local markets in Latin America, where it is in great demand. It has different characteristics from the other varieties.
Pineapple blooms only once. Its ideal climate is temperate, tolerates the intense sun, withstands high temperatures but the minimum must not fall below 15 degrees.
The soil must be well drained and composed of earth and sand.
The Pineapple, as well as the fruit, is grown as a houseplant due to its very decorative leaves; it also adapts well to low-light environments; however, the leaves lose some color.
Chemical composition
The main constituent of the Pineapple is Bromelain. The first form of Bromelain was found in the fruit of the Pineapple, later it was isolated in the stem; since in the stem Bromelain is present in greater concentrations, the one present on the market is generally obtained precisely from the stem of the Pineapple, which represents, among other things, a waste of food production for which extraction is more economical.
Pineapple also contains water, proteins, lipids, glucides, vitamins (such as vitamin A, B and C), organic acids (citric acid, malic acid and oxalic acid) and various microelements such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium (1 -2).
The characteristic flavor of the Pineapple is due to the presence of sugars combined with a considerable quantity of citric acid.
Pineapple provides about 40 calories per 100 g; sugar is generally added to the canned one, so it is more caloric.
