Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter
Left: Sugarloaf pineapple. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER. Right: It's pineapple season, so try these attractive, juicy, skewered, pineapple chunks. Just pick one up and munch. - PHOTOS BY ROSEMARY PARKINSON
It is sweet, sometimes tart but nonetheless juicy and delicious. When added to a simple dish, the finished product is transformed into an exotic treat. The pineapple, a very popular fruit can also be paired with other foods or fruits.
PINEAPPLE (ANANAS comosus) is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur. It was domesticated by the Indians and taken by them to Central America to Mexico and the West Indies before Christopher Columbus arrived. In 1493, Columbus found the fruit on the island of Guadeloupe and took it back to Spain from where it spread around the world on ships that carried it for protection against scurvy.
The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines and may have taken it to Hawaii and Guam early in the 16th century. But it is also believed that Jamaica supplied the first commercial variety of the fruit to Hawaii, now its largest producer. Tradition has it that these pineapples were sent from a plantation called Lilyfield in St. Ann, and through Temple Hall St. Andrew. However, it is definitely known that the plants of the commercial variety, Cheyenne, were shipped from Jamaica to Hawaii between 1885-1895.
Pineapples have a historic association with Jamaica that is symbolised in several ways. For instance, the fruit appears on the shield of the Jamaican Coat of Arms and a pineapple watermark appears on the paper used for printing Jamaica paper money. Plus, it has become extremely popular for its beauty as well as taste. And, in every parish during the season, vendors sell pineapples at street corners.
The sweet fruit is oval to cylindrical in shape. It can grow up to 12 inches long and weigh from one to 10 pounds. The compound fruit develops from many small fruits fused together. It is both juicy and fleshy with the stem serving as the fibrous core. The tough, waxy rind may be dark green, yellow, and orange to yellow or reddish when ripe. The flesh ranges from nearly white to yellow.
In the international trade, the numerous pineapple cultivators are grouped in four main classes: Smooth Cayenne, Red Spanish, Queen, and Abacaxi, despite much variation in the types within each class. However, there are just a few variations that grow here in Jamaica. They are: Sugarloaf, Ripley, the Cowboy and Smooth Cayenne that is only grown in small quantities.
Sugarloaf is closely related to Abacaxi and is much appreciated in Central and South America, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines. The leaves of the plant and crown are easy to be pulled out. It is more or less conical, sometimes round and not colourful. It weighs one and a half to three pounds. The flesh is white to yellow, very sweet and juicy.
Ripley is a dwarf, compact plant with crimson tinge on the leaves. It takes 22 weeks to mature and is an irregular bearer. It weighs three to six pounds and is pale to copper externally in colour but the flesh is pale to yellow, non-fibrous, very sweet and rich.
The flesh makes jelly, sauces, tarts and cakes. It is also a great garnish, especially on nice ham. It is also great to make juices and goes well with meats such as chicken.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Fresh pineapple is rich in bromelain, a group of sulphur-containing proteolytic (protein-digesting) enzymes that not only aid digestion, but can effectively reduce inflammation and swelling, and has even been used experimentally as an anti-cancer agent. A variety of inflammatory agents are inhibited by the action of bromelain.
In clinical human trials, bromelain has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects, reducing swelling in inflammatory conditions such as acute sinusitis, sore throat, arthritis and gout, and speeding recovery from injuries and surgery.
To maximise bromelain's anti-inflammatory effects, pineapples should be eaten alone between meals or its enzymes will be used up digesting food.
Pineapple is an excellent source for the trace mineral manganese, which is an essential co-factor in a number of enzymes important in energy production and antioxidant defences.
Pineapple juice can be used as a marinade and tenderiser for meat. The enzymes in pineapples can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as jelly or other gelatine-based desserts.
Some have claimed that pineapple has benefits for some intestinal disorders while others claim that it helps to induce childbirth when a baby is overdue. It can also be used in savoury dishes to enhance digestion.
Pineapple is a good source of manganese, as well as containing significant amounts of vitamin C and Vitamin B1.
Source: A-Z of Jamaica Heritage, Olive Senior,
The Institute of Jamaica Natural History Department; www.whfoods.com www.crfg. org/pubs/ff/pineapple.html
