Baby Pineapple

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In 1493, Christopher Columbus discovered the fruit on the island of Guadeloupe. Today it is found everywhere in the Tropics. The cultivation centre is East Asia: Thailand, the Philippines, India, China and Indonesia. Africa : Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast and South Africa. South America : Brazil Columbia, Venezuela, Peru. It is also cultivated in the US (Hawaii) and Central America (Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Honduras). It can be found in Spain and the greenhouses of the Portuguese Antilles. The fruit is grown in plantations, with a first harvest after 15 to 24 months and second harvest from the side shoots after another 15 to 18 months. The size of the fruits depends on the type, the climate, the planting distance and the number of harvests per plant.

Description:

The pineapple is herbaceous perennial consisting of a large rosette of up to 90 cm long and 6 cm wide leaves with spiky tips and sharp serrated edges. After about 1 to 1-1/2 years, the stem elongates and enlarges near the apex, putting forth a inflorescence, where, without pollination, 100 to 200 seedless berries grow into a 0.5 to 5 (even 10) kg heavy fruit compound: our pineapple. Only the flattened surfaces (the pentagonal or hexagonal 'eyes') can be seen and the outstanding tips of the crown leaves which whither during ripening. The rind is inedible; the flesh is juicy and ranges in colour from light to golden yellow or reddish. Its odour is delicious. The woody centre is also inedible.The pineapple supplies precious minerals - potassium, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Zucker, Fruchtsäure (vor allem Zitronensäure), etwas Provitamin A, Vitamine der B- Gruppe und etwas C, sowie Bromelin, ein eiweißspaltendes Ferment, das die Verdauung und die Durchblutung fördert, es entwässert und wirkt entzündungshemmend. However, these effects exist only in the fresh fruit, because conservation means destroy the enzyme. Fresh pineapple is very beneficial for people with a lack of gastric acid.

Marketing :

The fruit, as ripe as possible, is harvest by hand. Pineapples are very pressure-sensitive and do no ripen once they are picked. Fruits harvested too early, lack the sweetness and flavour; whereas late harvested fruit is tastelessly sweet. The waxy rind may be dark green, yellow, orange-yellow or reddish, depending on type and geographical origin. Its sales price depends on size, weight and ripeness. Fruits of good quality feature fresh, green leaves without brown tips, a lustrous clear colour of the rind (no dullness), a sufficient firmness (no soft spots), a pleasing smell and a high weight for the respective size. Pineapples are available year round. Green-ripe fruits may be stored for about 4 weeks at a temperature of 10- 13° C and with 90- 95% humidity; completely ripe fruits last at 7°C at the same humidity for up to 2 weeks. Lower temperatures result in cold injuries with glassy, and later brownish to black discoloured flesh.

Use:

Fresh consumption is recommended. The fruit is also used in the production of compotes, marmalades, salad, cakes, gateaux, desserts, ice-cream, candied fruit, lemonades, wine, punch, liqueurs, brandy, but also in pineapple powders and as dried fruit supplied mainly by Taiwan. The pineapple is the worldwide most important supplier of tropical fruit juice and is also offered canned.

Baby - Pineapple: can be filled with fruit salads, cocktails, shrimp cocktail or may be used as decorative element.