About Pineapples

Pineapples are is a tropical plant and fruit (multiple), probably native to Brazil or Paraguay. It is a tall (1-1.5 m) herbaceous perennial plant with 30 or more trough-shaped and pointed leaves 30-100 cm long, surrounding a thick stem. The leaves of the Smooth Cayenne cultivar mostly lack spines except at the leaf tip, but the Spanish and Queen cultivars have large spines along the leaf margins. Pineapples are the only bromeliad fruit in widespread cultivation.

The name pineapple in English (or piña in Spanish) comes from the similarity of the fruit to a pine cone. The word "pineapple", first recorded in 1398, was originally used to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit, they called them "pineapples" (term first recorded in that sense in 1664) because it resembled what we know as pine cones.

The fruitlets of a pineapple are arranged in two interlocking spirals, eight spirals in one direction, thirteen in the other; each being a Fibonacci number. This is one of many examples of Fibonacci numbers appearing in nature. The natural (or most common) pollinator of the pineapple is the hummingbird. Pollination is required for seed formation; the presence of seeds negatively affects the quality of the fruit. In Hawaii, where pineapple is cultivated on an agricultural scale, importation of hummingbirds is prohibited for this reason. At one time, most canned and fresh pineapples were produced on Smooth Cayenne plants. Truly ripe pineapples are not found in the supermarket because almost all pineapple fruits are harvested at the mature-green stage of maturity. Fruit of the low-acid hybrid, usually containing "gold" in the brand name, are of good and consistent quality. Fruit of the best quality will have a fresh crown and little or no obvious shrinkage or wrinkling of the shell. In England, the pineapple first appeared in 1705, when John Loodsworth came back from America, bringing with him, a pineapple as a gift from the chief of a tribe of South American Indians.

Pineapple contains a proteolytic enzyme bromelain, which digests food by breaking down protein. Pineapple juice can thus be used as a marinade and tenderizer for meat. The enzymes in pineapples can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as jelly or other gelatin-based desserts. It can also be used to enhance digestion. Despite these benefits, fresh pineapple may cause irritation of the tip of the tongue in some cases. Pineapple is a good source of manganese, as well as containing significant amounts of Vitamin C and Vitamin B1.