Pineapple

Native to Brazil and grown around the world where climatic conditions are favourable, the oddly prickly fruit can delight the taste buds. The plant can grow 5ft high and each leaf can grow over 3ft long, sometimes with spines, sometimes not. The pineapple as we know it is made up a number of fruits, typically about 150, from individual flowers, which grow and press together, to form a single fleshy fruit.

Pineapples were brought to Europe by Columbus, and were successfully grown in hothouses in the 17th century, much to the delight of the ruling houses and the fashionably wealthy across Europe. Sailors used pineapples to protect themselves from scurvy, and pineapples from shipwrecks colonised the Caribbean. Later, pineapples were introduced to Hawaii and this became a centre of research and production for the familiar names of Dole and Del Monte.

New varieties have less tartness, and are wonderfully sweet and juicy. Usually the skin, leaves and core are removed to leave a slightly fibrous, but soft and loose textured flesh, often served in chunks or in slices. A fresh, ripe pineapple should have a fresh, pineapple smell and sound hollow when hit. A leaf should come away with a sharp tug, and it should not be all green (under ripe) or smelling of fermented alcohol or beer at the leafy end (over ripe). Pineapples are difficult to ripen any further when picked, but can be left at room temperature to develop flavour and juice; once cut the flesh should be covered and refrigerated in a non-metallic container. Pineapples are a good source of fibre, thiamine, vitamin B5, copper, vitamin C and manganese.