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The pineapple^[1] is known as the fruit of kings, and it was available only to natives of the tropics and to wealthy Europeans. Despite the fact that this fruit had become familiar to almost the whole world, it is still a true exotic, because it is a member of the bromeliad family, in which edible fruits are rare. A pineapple starts out as a stalk of a hundred or more flowers that shoots up from a plant about three feet tall. Each flower develops a fruit that forms one of the scales on the outside of the pineapple. The more scales or marks on a pineapple, the stronger the tropical taste will be. A pineapple with fewer and larger scales will have a milder but sweeter flavor and more juice.

The fruit was spread from native Paraguay to throughout South and Central America when the Guarani Indians took pineapples on sea voyages as provisions and to prevent scurvy. When Columbus found the fruit in in 1493 called it piña, because he thought it looked like a pinecone.

The hybrid we know today first appeared, when the Dutch improved the fruit by crossbreeding, around 1700. The cuttings of the plants were sold to English, who grew them as hothouse plants. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that canned pineapple began to come out of Hawaii. If you wanted a fresh Hawaiian pineapple, you had to go there to get one. Picked ripe, as the Hawaiian variety has to be, a fresh pineapple simply could not survive the long journey by ship. It was only when air transport became available that fresh Hawaiian pineapple began to arrive in mainland markets.

The pineapple is a tropical plant and fruit (multiple), native to Uruguay, Brazil, Puerto Rico, or Paraguay. It is a medium 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 pineapple is an example of a multiple fruit: multiple, spirally-arranged flowers along the axis each produce a fleshy fruit that becomes pressed against the fruits of adjacent flowers, forming what appears to be a single fleshy fruit. Pineapples are the only bromeliad fruit in widespread cultivation. It is one of the most commercially important plants. 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. Pollination is required for seed formation; the presence of seeds negatively affects the quality of the fruit.

Pineapple Reproduction: Once removed during cleaning, the top of the pineapple can be planted in soil and a new fruit bearing plant will grow in a similar manner that a potato or onion will resprout from a cutting.

Ethno-medical uses: The root and fruit are either eaten or applied topically as an anti-inflammatory and as a proteolytic agent. It is traditionally used as an antihelminthic agent in the Philippines. A root decoction is used to treat diarrhea.

In some cultures, the pineapple has become associated with the notion of welcome, an association bespoken by the use of pineapple motifs as carved decorations in woodworking. Many people bring a pineapple as a gift when meeting someone for the first time.

This fruit contains sugar, vitamin C, and bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme that breaks down protein. It is also low in sodium and rich in potassium; however, Pineapple was not recognized as having any other medicinal benefits for many years. This fruit also has anti-inflammatory and digestive properties. The bromelain in Pineapple helps fight infections by dissolving layers of slough and bacteria-rich surfaces. This fruit can also be used to aid in digestion. It can clear bronchial passages in those suffering with pneumonia and bronchitis. The anti-inflammatory properties in this fruit help reduce the symptoms of arthritis, and help reduce pain after surgery and sport injuries. Pineapple is currently being studied for its effectiveness in preventing heart disease.

To receive the most nutritional value from Pineapple, it is best to eat it raw or canned, if it is canned in its own juices, but this fruit does come in other formulations as well and is an ingredient in many products.

Here is the food nutritional value per l00 g (3.5oz) of edible portion:

Pineapple is one of those foods that is heaven to eat. A good, juicy ripe pineapple can satisfy a sweet craving as well as any chocolate bar. In addition to being a delicious food, there are many health benefits of pineapple. Pineapple is Loaded with Vitamins and Minerals: The obvious benefits of pineapple are all the vitamins and minerals the fruit is loaded with. Its nutrients include calcium, potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. In addition it is low in fat and cholesterol.

Pineapple Strengthens Bones: One of the benefits of pineapple is that it helps to build healthy bones. Pineapples are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can effect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people.

Pineapple is Good for Colds and Coughs: While many people often take extra vitamin C or drink extra orange juice when they have a cold, few consider eating pineapple. The benefits of pineapple when you have a cold or cough are the same as the benefits of orange juice, but there is an additional benefit of pineapple. Bromelain, which is found in pineapples, has been found to help suppress coughs and loosen mucus.

Put briefly, here are some of the principal benefits of eating pineapples:- High in vitamin C; Good source of potassium; Loaded with manganese; Anti-inflammatory; Aid in digestion; Reduces blood clotting; May help angina by removing plaque from arterial walls.

Pineapple is good for your gums: Furthermore, due to its high vitamin C content, pineapples are good for your oral health as well. Vitamin C can reduce your risk of gingivitis and periodontal disease. Besides increasing the ability of connective tissue to repair itself, vitamin C also increases the body's ability to fight invading bacteria and other toxins that contribute to gum disease. Periodontal disease, which destroys gum tissue and underlying jaw bones, has been linked to heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Selection and preparation: When choosing a fresh pineapple, do not judge ripeness solely based upon colour. There are several varieties on the market that range from green to golden yellow. The most important factor in determining ripeness is smell; let your nose help you decide. Ripe pineapples give off a sweet, fresh tropical smell. Avoid pineapples that give off an unpleasant odour or have any soft spots or areas of dark discoloration. Once home, let the pineapple sits on your counter at room temperature until ready to use. This will preserve its sweet and tangy flavour.

To prepare pineapple, you need to peel it, remove the eyes (the thorny protrusions within the puffy squares of the skin) and the fibrous centre. First, cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple with a sharp knife. Place the pineapple upright on a cutting board and carefully slice off the outer skin. With a sharp paring knife or the end if a vegetable peeler, remove the eyes. Don't cut too deep, just enough to lift out the section that contains the eye. Then, remove the fibrous core. One way to do this is to cut the pineapple lengthwise into 4 wedges (quarter it) and cut around the fibrous centre core. Another popular way is to slice the pineapple crosswise and remove the cores individually with a cookie cutter. Once the fruit is prepared, it can be diced and eaten fresh, added to salads and entrees for an exotic flavour, or made into tasty tropical drinks.

Storage: Cold storage at a temperature of 40°F (4.44°C) and lower causes chilling injury and breakdown in pineapples. At 44.6-46.4°F (7-8°C) and above, 80-90% relative humidity and adequate air circulation, normal ripening progresses during and after storage. At best, pineapples may be stored for no more than 4-6 weeks. There is a possibility that storage life might be prolonged by dipping the fruits in a wax emulsion containing a suitable fungicide. Irradiation extends the shelf life of half- ripe pineapples by about one week.

Field ripe fruits are best for eating fresh, and it is only necessary to remove the crown, rind, eyes and core. In Panama, very small pineapples are cut from the plant with a few inches of stem to serve as a handle, the rind is removed except at the base, and the flesh is eaten out-of-hand like corn on the cob. The flesh of larger fruits is cut up in various ways and eaten fresh, as dessert, in salads, compotes and otherwise, or cooked in pies, cakes, puddings, or as a garnish on ham, or made into sauces or preserves. Malayans utilize the pineapple in curries and various meat dishes. In the Philippines, the fermented pulp is made into a popular sweetmeat called nata de pina. The pineapple does not lend itself well to freezing, as it tends to develop off flavours. Pineapple juice has been employed for cleaning machete and knife blades and, with sand, for scrubbing boat decks. Pineapple juice is taken as a diuretic and to expedite labour, also as a gargle in cases of sore throat and as an antidote for seasickness. The flesh of very young (toxic) fruits is deliberately ingested to achieve abortion (a little with honey on 3 successive mornings); also to expel intestinal worms; and as a drastic treatment for venereal diseases. In Africa the dried, powdered root is a remedy for edema. The crushed rind is applied on fractures and the rind decoction with rosemary is applied on hemorrhoids. Indians in Panama use the leaf juice as a purgative, emmenagogue and vermifuge.

Some tips on using pineapple: Fresh pineapple contains brome lain, a protelytic enzyme that helps to digests food better and breaks down protein. Because of this, gelatine made with fresh pineapple won’t set. Cottage cheese, sour cream and other dairy products should not be mixed with fresh pineapple until just before serving. But, you can use fresh pineapple to great advantage in meat marinade to add a flavour accent and tenderize less tender cuts of meat.

NOTES: 1) The name pineapple in English 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 term "pine cone" was first recorded in 1694 to replace the original meaning of "pineapple".