Meal Makers Digest: Passion for Pineapple

PINEAPPLE PASSION

Pineapple are in season, in abundance and priced right! This is exciting news because you’ll find a bounty of flavorful fruit to readily eat or incorporate in your favorite recipe.

Pineapples usually weigh between 2 and 5 pounds. When purchasing look for pineapples that are fragrant and yield slightly to the touch, avoiding any with a greenish tint at either end (underripe) or soft, mushy spots (overripe).

How to Store
Pineapples do not keep well, so it's a good idea to use them soon after purchasing. Store them at room temperature for up to two days or in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Nutrition
Raw pineapple is an excellent source of manganese (76% Daily Value (DV) in a one US cup serving) and vitamin C (131% DV per cup serving). 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 or 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.Pineapples are great for coughs, colds and indigestion.

Five Facts about Pineapple

Although originally from South America, most of the world's pineapples now come from Southeast Asia. Thailand is said to be the biggest producer of pineapples in the region.
One pineapple plant produces only one pineapple every 2 years.
Pineapple canneries use every bit of the pineapple. The skins, core and end portions are used to make a variety of products including vinegar, alcohol and animal food. It's always great when you don't have to waste anything.
Pineapple is not, strictly speaking, a fruit. Rather it is 100-200 fruitlets all fused together!
You can grow a pineapple plant by twisting the crown off a store bought pineapple, allowing it to dry for 2-3 days, and then planting it.