Pineapple
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Select pineapples that are firm, plump, and have a full, vibrant yellow color. The more yellow the pineapple, the higher its sugar content. Pineapples with larger eyes (eye-shaped markings on the skin) tend to be sweeter. They should be slightly soft to the touch and fragrant on the underside. The crown of leaves must be crisp and green with no yellow or brown tips. Pineapples are already ripe when picked. Those with “jet-shipped from Hawaii” labels are best.
Avoid pineapples with dark, soft, or sunken skin areas. If they are not picked ripe, the starch will not convert to sugar and the fruit will never really ripen, so avoid signs of greening. Liquid leaking from the bottom of a pineapple or an unpleasant odor is a sign of fruit decay.
Store whole, ripe pineapples refrigerated and tightly wrapped up to three days, never at room temperature. Cut pineapple that is tightly sealed will last a few days longer.
Popular Varieties: Smooth Cayenne (most popular, best tasting, cone-shaped Hawaiian pineapple, sold fresh and canned), Red Spanish (squarish shape, tougher shell, most are sold fresh, grown in the Caribbean), Sugar Loaf (large, most are sold fresh, imported from Mexico).
Peak Season: March - June
Nutritional Content: 2 slices pineapple: 60 calories, 0 g fat, 16 g carbohydrates, 13 g sugar. Good source of vitamin C.
Did You Know...
* Pineapples have their own powerful tenderizer, an enzyme called bromelain. Its juice can either be added to a marinade sauce, or stand alone as a marinade. Pineapple flavor best complements pork.
* It takes eighteen to twenty-two months to produce a single pineapple.
* The fruit gets its name from the Spanish word “piña” meaning cone. Pineapples are still called “piñas” in Latin America.
* Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality, and were once so rare they were called "the fruit of the kings."
* Historians believe voyagers brought pineapples to Hawaii from Tahiti and other South Sea islands around 1800.
Avoid pineapples with dark, soft, or sunken skin areas. If they are not picked ripe, the starch will not convert to sugar and the fruit will never really ripen, so avoid signs of greening. Liquid leaking from the bottom of a pineapple or an unpleasant odor is a sign of fruit decay.
Store whole, ripe pineapples refrigerated and tightly wrapped up to three days, never at room temperature. Cut pineapple that is tightly sealed will last a few days longer.
Popular Varieties: Smooth Cayenne (most popular, best tasting, cone-shaped Hawaiian pineapple, sold fresh and canned), Red Spanish (squarish shape, tougher shell, most are sold fresh, grown in the Caribbean), Sugar Loaf (large, most are sold fresh, imported from Mexico).
Peak Season: March - June
Nutritional Content: 2 slices pineapple: 60 calories, 0 g fat, 16 g carbohydrates, 13 g sugar. Good source of vitamin C.
Did You Know...
* Pineapples have their own powerful tenderizer, an enzyme called bromelain. Its juice can either be added to a marinade sauce, or stand alone as a marinade. Pineapple flavor best complements pork.
* It takes eighteen to twenty-two months to produce a single pineapple.
* The fruit gets its name from the Spanish word “piña” meaning cone. Pineapples are still called “piñas” in Latin America.
* Pineapples are a symbol of hospitality, and were once so rare they were called "the fruit of the kings."
* Historians believe voyagers brought pineapples to Hawaii from Tahiti and other South Sea islands around 1800.
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