Pineapple
Origin / Growing regions
Originally from Paraguay and southern Brazil, pineapples are now cultivated in all tropical regions, most notably in East Asia. Thailand and the Philippines account for nearly a third of total world production.
Description
The pineapple plant consists of a large crown of sharp- pointed leaves with marginal spines. The leaves measure up to 90 centimetres in length. A long stem bearing 100 to 200 pale pink blossoms sprouts from the middle of the leaf crown. The blossoms ripen into berries, which are then compressed to form a single fruit weighing between one and four kilograms. About 100 species of pineapple have been identified.
Pineapple
Fruit
The pineapple is a type of multiple fruit (defined in botanical terms as fruits formed from a cluster of flowers or smaller fruits). One of its most remarkable features is the scale-like pattern of its skin. The pulp of a perfectly ripe pineapple is hard yet juicy, with a colour ranging from light- to golden yellow.
Taste
Pineapples have a distinctive sweet, aromatic flavour. The fibrous stem in the centre is usually not edible. As a general rule, the more prominent the scales of the skin, the more aromatic the flavour of the pineapple.