By Dr. Rita Fabbri
... L "Pineapple is a plant that the Maya, Aztecs and Incas already knew and cultivated. Christopher Columbus had seen this fruit in Guadeloupe in 1493. The natives of South America called it" nana ", the Portuguese" ananaz ", therefore pineapple in Italian , French and German; for the Spaniards it was the "piña" due to the resemblance to a pine cone: hence the English term "pine apple". In the 16th century the Spanish writer Fernandez de Oviedo defined the "Pineapple as" the most beautiful woman in world of plants ”in reference to the beauty and goodness of the fruit.
At the beginning of the 1700s, the cultivation of pineapple in greenhouses took place in Europe and especially in England and France: the fruit was highly appreciated even if it had prohibitive costs. In the early nineteenth century, the pineapple found its ideal habitat in Hawaii. ; it is not known who brought this plant to the islands, perhaps Captain James Cook or the Spanish explorers who very often ate pineapple during navigation, because it was rich in vitamin C which protected them from scurvy. Soon the pineapple became the symbol of Hawaii , where it was called "ha lakahiki" which means "foreign fruit" and was hung in front of houses to welcome.
The first high quality canned pineapple industry appeared around 1900 in California, it was Del Monte.
Currently, the large productions of Pineapple are found mainly in tropical areas and in Europe; it is the most consumed canned fruit ever.
Pineapple can also be sold in cans in the form of juice or syrup, or in slices in dried form. Fresh pineapples are available on the market at any time of the year; to obtain this the fruits are harvested in advance, so the taste and smell are very different from those of the fruit ripened on the plant: it seems that the sugar content in the pineapple can double in a single night; particularly sweet and fragrant are the small pineapples of Moorea in Polynesia.
In the "purchase of" Pineapple, it is necessary to avoid fruits that have the skin between the external lozenges of green-gray or brown color: in the first case they are unripe, in the second they are too ripe. The peel must be shaded orange and the fruit must have a characteristic light scent. The pineapple should not be kept at a temperature below 8 ° C but should be served fresh, perhaps flavored with a maraschino liqueur or with rum.
In the most sophisticated recipes, pineapple is associated with fatty meats, poultry and salads. This fruit is widely used in the preparation of cakes, pastries, ice creams, sorbets and fruit salads; pineapple jam is excellent for filling rolls, brioches and crêpes ...
Botanical name: Pineapple sativus Schult. f. (sin. Ananas comosus L. Merr.)
Family: Bromeliaceae
Parts used: stem of the fruit
Botanical description
The origins of the pineapple are in South America, between Paraguay and Brazil. It is an evergreen perennial plant with gray-green, sword-shaped, arched and pointed leaves that form a dense rosette.
There are about a hundred varieties of pineapple but can be grouped into four groups:
- Cayenne, coming from Hawaii, belongs to this group the “Smooth Cayenne” which is the most widespread variety. The fruits have the typical cylindrical shape and are very large (they can even exceed 3 kg), pale yellow in color, very sweet taste, very suitable for canning.
- Spanish, of Caribbean origin, the “Red Spanish” belongs to this group. The fruits have an orange skin, the pulp is a little fibrous but very aromatic.
- Quenn, grown mainly in Africa. The fruits are quite small (about 1 kg), with yellow pulp and intense aroma.
- Abacaxi is grown almost exclusively for fresh consumption and sold in the local markets of Latin America, where it is in great demand. It has different characteristics from other varieties.
The pineapple blooms only once. Its ideal climate is temperate, tolerates intense sun, tolerates high temperatures but the minimum must not drop below 15 degrees.
The soil must be well drained and composed of earth and sand.
The pineapple, as well as for the fruit, is cultivated as a houseplant for its very decorative leaves; it also adapts well to environments with little light; however, the leaves lose some color.
Chemical composition
The main constituent of Pineapple is Bromelain. The first form of Bromelain was identified in the fruit of Pineapple, and was subsequently isolated in the stem; since Bromelain is present in higher concentrations in the stem, the one present on the market is generally obtained from the pineapple stem, which represents, among other things, a waste of food production for which extraction is cheaper.
Pineapple also contains water, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins (such as vitamins A, B and C), organic acids (citric, malic and oxalic acids) and various microelements such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium (1 -2).
The characteristic flavor of pineapple is due to the presence of sugars combined with a considerable amount of citric acid.
Pineapple provides about 40 calories per 100g, and canned pineapple is usually added with sugar, making it more caloric.
Other articles on "Pineapple"
- Pineapple and Bromelain - Therapeutic indications
- Bromelain - Therapeutic indications
- Pineapple: Contraindications and Bibliography
.jpg)
