The pineapple is a tropical plant with edible multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries,
and the most economically significant plant in the Bromeliaceae family. Pineapples may
be cultivated from a crown cutting of the fruit, possibly flowering in 20–24 months
and fruiting in the following six months. Pineapple does not ripen significantly post-harvest.
Pineapples are consumed fresh, cooked, juiced, and preserved, and are found in a wide array
of cuisines. In addition to consumption, in the Philippines the pineapple's leaves are
used to produce the textile fiber piña- employed as a component of wall paper and furnishings,
amongst other uses.
Etymology
The word "pineapple" in English was first recorded in 1398, when it was originally used
to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees. The term "pine cone" for the reproductive
organ of conifer trees was first recorded in 1694. When European explorers discovered
this tropical fruit in the Americas, they called them "pineapples".
In the scientific binomial Ananas comosus, ananas, the original name of the fruit, comes
from the Tupi word nanas, meaning "excellent fruit", as recorded by André Thevet in 1555,
and comosus, "tufted", refers to the stem of the fruit. Other members of the Ananas
genus are often called "pine", as well, in other languages. In Spanish, pineapples are
called piña, or ananá.
Botany
The pineapple is a herbaceous perennial which grows to 1.0 to 1.5 meters tall, although
sometimes it can be taller. In appearance, the plant itself has a short, stocky stem
with tough, waxy leaves. When creating its fruit, it usually produces up to 200 flowers,
although some large-fruited cultivars can exceed this. Once it flowers, the individual
fruits of the flowers join together to create what is commonly referred to as a pineapple.
After the first fruit is produced, side shoots are produced in the leaf axils of the main
stem. These may be removed for propagation, or left to produce additional fruits on the
original plant. Commercially, suckers that appear around the base are cultivated. It
has 30 or more long, narrow, fleshy, trough-shaped leaves with sharp spines along the margins
that are 30 to 100 centimeters long, surrounding a thick stem. In the first year of growth,
the axis lengthens and thickens, bearing numerous leaves in close spirals. After 12 to 20 months,
the stem grows into a spike-like inflorescence up to 15 cm long with over 100 spirally arranged,
trimerous flowers, each subtended by a bract. Flower colors vary, depending on variety,
from lavender, through light purple to red. The ovaries develop into berries which coalesce
into a large, compact, multiple accessory fruit. The fruit of a pineapple is arranged
in two interlocking helices, eight in one direction, thirteen in the other, each being
a Fibonacci number. Pineapple carries out CAM photosynthesis,
fixing carbon dioxide at night and storing it as the acid malate and then releasing it
during the day, aiding photosynthesis. Pollination
Seed formation needs pollination, but the presence of seeds harms the quality of the
fruit. In Hawaii, where pineapple is cultivated on an agricultural scale, importation of hummingbirds
is prohibited for this reason. Certain bat-pollinated wild pineapples open their flowers only at
night. Culinary uses
The flesh and juice of the pineapple are used in cuisines around the world. In many tropical
countries, pineapple is prepared, and sold on roadsides as a snack. It is sold whole,
or in halves with a stick inserted. Whole, cored slices with a cherry in the middle are
a common garnish on hams in the West. Chunks of pineapple are used in desserts such as
fruit salad, as well as in some savory dishes, including pizza toppings and a grilled ring
on a hamburger. Crushed pineapple is used in yogurt, jam, sweets, and ice cream. The
juice of the pineapple is served as a beverage, and is also as a main ingredient in such cocktails
as the piña colada. Nutrition
Raw pineapple is an excellent source of manganese in a one US cup serving) and vitamin C. Mainly
from its stem, pineapple contains a proteolytic enzyme, bromelain, which breaks down protein.
If having sufficient bromelain content, raw pineapple juice may be used as a meat marinade
and tenderizer. Pineapple enzymes can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as
jelly and other gelatin-based desserts, but would be destroyed during cooking and canning.
The quantity of bromelain in the fruit is probably not significant, being mostly in
the inedible stalk. Furthermore, an ingested enzyme like bromelain is unlikely to survive
intact the proteolytic processes of digestion. History
The plant is indigenous to South America and is said to originate from the area between
southern Brazil and Paraguay; however, little is known about the origin of the domesticated
pineapple. M.S. Bertoni considered the Paraná–Paraguay River drainages to be the place of origin
of A. comosus. The natives of southern Brazil and Paraguay spread the pineapple throughout
South America, and it eventually reached the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, where
it was cultivated by the Mayas and the Aztecs. Columbus encountered the pineapple in 1493
on the leeward island of Guadeloupe. He called it piña de Indes, meaning "pine of the Indians,"
and brought it back with him to Europe thus making the pineapple the first bromeliad to
leave the New World. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines, Hawaii, Zimbabwe
and Guam. The fruit is said to have been first introduced in Hawaii when a Spanish ship brought
it there in the 1500s. The fruit was cultivated successfully in European hothouses, and pineapple
pits, beginning in 1720. John Kidwell is credited with the introduction
of the pineapple industry to Hawaii. Large-scale pineapple cultivation by US companies began
in the early 1900s on Hawaii. Among the most famous and influential pineapple industrialists
was James Dole who moved to Hawaii in 1899 and started a pineapple plantation in 1900.
The companies Dole and Del Monte began growing pineapple on the island of Oahu in 1901 and
1917, respectively. Dole's pineapple company began with the acquisition of 60 acres of
land in 1901, and has grown into a major company. Maui Pineapple Company began pineapple cultivation
on the island of Maui in 1909. In 2006, Del Monte announced its withdrawal from pineapple
cultivation in Hawaii, leaving only Dole and Maui Pineapple Company in Hawaii as the US's
largest growers of pineapples. In the US, in 1986, the Pineapple Research
Institute was dissolved and its assets were divided between Del Monte and Maui Land and
Pineapple. Del Monte took variety 73–114, which it dubbed MD-2, to its plantations in
Costa Rica, found it to be well-suited to growing there, and launched it publicly in
1996.. In 1997, Del Monte began marketing its Gold Extra Sweet pineapple, known internally
as MD-2. MD-2 is a hybrid that originated in the breeding program of the now-defunct
Pineapple Research Institute in Hawaii, which conducted research on behalf of Del Monte,
Maui Land and Pineapple Company, and Dole. Cultivation
In 2009, Brazil produced 2,206,492 tonnes, closely followed by the Philippines, which
produced 2,198,497 tonnes, and Thailand, 1,894,862 tonnes. Total world production in 2009 was
19,488,240 tonnes. The primary exporters of fresh pineapples in 2001 were Costa Rica,
322,000 tons; Côte d'Ivoire, 188,000 tons; and the Philippines, 135,000 tons. Since 2000,
the most common fresh pineapple fruit found in U.S. and European supermarkets is a low-acid
hybrid that was developed in Hawaii in the early 1970s.
In commercial farming, flowering can be induced artificially, and the early harvesting of
the main fruit can encourage the development of a second crop of smaller fruits. Once removed
during cleaning, the top of the pineapple can be planted in soil and a new plant will
grow. Slips and suckers are planted commercially.
Ethical and environmental concerns Three-quarters of pineapples sold in Europe
are grown in Costa Rica, where pineapple production is highly industrialised. Growers typically
use 20 kg of pesticides per hectare in each growing cycle, a process that may affect soil
quality and biodiversity. The pesticides – organophosphates, organochlorines and hormone disruptors – have
the potential to affect workers' health and can contaminate local drinking water supplies.
Many of these chemicals have potential to be carcinogens, and may be related to birth
defects. Because of commercial pressures, many pineapple
workers – 60% of whom are Nicaraguan – in Costa Rica are paid low wages. European supermarkets'
price-reduction policies have lowered growers' incomes. One major pineapple producer contests
these claims. Cultivars
There are many cultivars. The leaves of the commonly grown "smooth cayenne" are smooth
and it is the most commonly grown worldwide. Many cultivars have become distributed from
its origins in Paraguay and the southern part of Brazil, and later improved stocks were
introduced into the Americas, the Azores, Africa, India, Malaysia and Australia. Varieties
include: 'Hilo': a compact 1–1.5 kg Hawaiian variant
of smooth cayenne, the fruit is more cylindrical and produces many suckers, but no slips.
'Kona sugarloaf': 2.5–3 kg, white flesh with no woodiness in the center, cylindrical
in shape, it has a high sugar content but no acid, an unusually sweet fruit.
'Natal queen': 1–1.5 kg, golden yellow flesh, crisp texture and delicate mild flavor,
well-adapted to fresh consumption, keeps well after ripening, spiny leaves, grown in Australia,
Malaysia, and South Africa 'Pernambuco': 1–2 kg with pale yellow to
white flesh, sweet, melting and excellent for eating fresh, poorly adapted for shipping,
spiny leaves, grown in Latin America 'Red Spanish': 1–2 kg, pale yellow flesh
with pleasant aroma, squarish in shape, well-adapted for shipping as fresh fruit to distant markets,
spiny leaves, grown in Latin America 'Smooth cayenne': 2.5–3 kg, pale yellow
to yellow flesh, cylindrical in shape, high sugar and acid content, well-adapted to canning
and processing, leaves without spines, this is the variety from Hawaii, and the most easily
obtainable in US grocery stores. Both 73–114 and 73-50 are of this cultivar.
Some Ananas species are grown as ornamentals for color, novel fruit size and other esthetic
qualities.
Traditional medicine and preliminary research Both the root and fruit may be eaten or applied
topically as an anti-inflammatory or as a proteolytic agent. In some practices, it may
be used to induce abortion or menstruation or as an antihelminthic agent.
Bromelain purified from pineapple stem or fresh juice, then provided in the diet over
six months, decreased the severity of colonic inflammation in mice with experimental colitis.
Bromelain from pineapple has some potential against cancer mechanisms, as laboratory research
showed that it causes autophagy in mammary carcinoma cells, stimulating turnover of MCF-7
cells through apoptosis. Pests and diseases
Pineapples are subject to a variety of diseases, the most serious of which is wilt disease
vectored by mealybugs typically found on the surface of pineapples, but possibly in the
closed blossom cups. Other diseases include pink disease, bacterial heart rot, anthracnose,
fungal heart rot, root rot, black rot, butt rot, fruitlet core rot, and yellow spot virus.
Pink disease is characterized by the fruit developing a brownish to black discoloration
when heated during the canning process. The causal agents of pink disease are the bacteria
Acetobacter aceti, Gluconobacter oxydans, and Pantoea citrea.
Some pests that commonly affect pineapple plants are scales, thrips, mites, mealybugs,
ants, and symphylids. Storage and transport
Some buyers prefer green fruit, others ripened or off-green. A plant growth regulator, Ethephon,
is typically sprayed onto the fruit one week before harvest, developing ethylene, which
turns the fruit golden yellow. After cleaning and slicing, a pineapple is typically canned
in sugar syrup with added preservative. A pineapple will never become any riper than
it was when harvested, though a fully ripe pineapple can bruise and rot quickly.
The fruit itself is quite perishable and if it is stored at room temperature, it should
be used within two days; however, if it is refrigerated, the time span extends to five
to seven days. Marketing
Usage in culture In the Caribbean, Europe and North America,
the pineapple became associated with the return of ships from extended voyages, and an emblem
of welcome and hospitality that made its way into contemporary art.
In the television show Psych, the writers have included a pineapple in every episode
as a running joke, and there's a website dedicated to compiling a list of every pineapple.
In the American cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, SpongeBob's home is a pineapple under the
sea. See also
Pineapple cutter Pineapple tarts
The Big Pineapple References
Further reading Francesca Beauman, 'The Pineapple', ISBN 0-7011-7699-7,
publisher Chatto and Windus Menzel, Christopher. "Tropical and Subtropical
Fruit." Encyclopedia of Agricultural Science—Volume 4. Charles J. Arntzen. New York, NY: Academic
Press, 1994. 380–382. External links
Pineapple Fruit Facts – Information on pineapples from California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc.
Paul Lunde, New World Foods, Old World Diet, 1992, Saudi Aramco World