Pineapple
The pineapple[2][3] (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae.[4]
For other uses, see Pineapple (disambiguation).
The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuries. The introduction of the pineapple plant to Europe in the 17th century made it a significant cultural icon of luxury. Since the 1820s, pineapple has been commercially grown in greenhouses and many tropical plantations.
Pineapples grow as a small shrub; the individual flowers of the unpollinated plant fuse to form a multiple fruit. The plant normally propagates from the offset produced at the top of the fruit[2][5] or from a side shoot, and typically matures within a year.[5][6]
History
Etymology
The first reference in English to the pineapple fruit was the 1568 translation from the French of André Thevet's The New Found World, or Antarctike where he refers to a Hoyriri, a fruit cultivated and eaten by the Tupinambá people, living near modern Rio de Janeiro, and now believed to be a pineapple.[15] Later in the same English translation, he describes the same fruit as a "Nana made in the manner of a Pine apple", where he used another Tupi word nanas, meaning 'excellent fruit'.[16] This usage was adopted by many European languages and led to the plant's scientific binomial Ananas comosus, where comosus 'tufted' refers to the stem of the plant. Purchas, writing in English in 1613, referred to the fruit as Ananas, but the Oxford English Dictionary's first record of the word pineapple itself by an English writer is by Mandeville in 1714.[17]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
209 kJ (50 kcal)
9.85 g
1.4 g
Quantity
Quantity
Quantity
86.00 g
Composition
Nutrition
Raw pineapple pulp is 86% water, 13% carbohydrates, 0.5% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a 100-gram reference amount, raw pineapple supplies 209 kilojoules (50 kilocalories) of food energy, and is a rich source of manganese (44% Daily Value, DV) and vitamin C (58% DV), but otherwise contains no micronutrients in significant amounts.
Varieties
Cultivars
Many cultivars are known.[2] The leaves of the commonly grown "smooth cayenne" are smooth,[63] and it is the most commonly grown worldwide. Many cultivars have become distributed from its origins in Paraguay and the southern part of Brazil, and later improved stocks were introduced into the Americas, the Azores, Africa, India, Malaysia and Australia.[2] Varieties include:
In the US, in 1986, the Pineapple Research Institute was dissolved and its assets divided between Del Monte and Maui Land and Pineapple. Del Monte took cultivar '73–114', dubbed 'MD-2', to its plantations in Costa Rica, found it to be well-suited to growing there, and launched it publicly in 1996 as 'Gold Extra Sweet', while Del Monte also began marketing '73–50', dubbed 'CO-2', as 'Del Monte Gold'.[64] The Maui Pineapple Company began growing variety 73-50 in 1988 and named it Maui Gold.[66] The successor company to MPC, the Hali'imaile Pineapple Company continues to grow Maui Gold on the slopes of Haleakala.
Uses
Culinary
The flesh and juice of the pineapple are used in cuisines around the world. In many tropical countries, pineapple is prepared and sold on roadsides as a snack. It is sold whole or in halves with a stick inserted. Whole, cored slices with a cherry in the middle are a common garnish on hams in the West. Chunks of pineapple are used in desserts such as fruit salad, as well as in some savory dishes, including the Hawaiian pizza, or as a grilled ring on a hamburger. Traditional dishes that use pineapple include hamonado, afritada, kaeng som pla, and Hawaiian haystack. Crushed pineapple is used in yogurt, jam, sweets, and ice cream. The juice of the pineapple is served as a beverage, and it is also the main ingredient in cocktails such as the piña colada and in the drink tepache.
In the Philippines, a traditional jelly-like dessert called nata de piña has also been produced since the 18th century. It is made by fermenting pineapple juice with the bacteria Komagataeibacter xylinus.[68]
Pineapple vinegar is an ingredient found in both Honduran and Filipino cuisine, where it is produced locally.[69] In Mexico, it is usually made with peels from the whole fruit, rather than the juice; however, in Taiwanese cuisine, it is often produced by blending pineapple juice with grain vinegar.[70][71]
The European Union consumed 50% of the global total for pineapple juice in 2012–2016. The Netherlands was the largest importer of pineapple juice in Europe. Thailand, Costa Rica and the Netherlands are the major suppliers to the European Union market in 2012–2016.[72] Countries consuming the most pineapple juice in 2017 were Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, having combined consumption of 47% of the world total. The consumption of pineapple juice in China and India is low compared to their populations.[73]