Pineapple fruit

Pineapple

The Pineapple (Ananas comosus), named for its resemblance to the pine cone, 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 both fresh and cooked, canned, or juiced, and are found in a wide array of cuisines including dessert, fruit salad, jam, yogurt, ice cream and candy—and as a complement to meat dishes. 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.

History

The plant is indigenous to South America and is said to originate from the area between Southern Brazil and Paraguay; however, it is important to note that little is known about the origin of the domesticated pineapple (Pickersgill, 1976). M.S. Bertoni (1919)[14] considered the Paraná–Paraguay River drainages to be the place of origin of A. comosus.[15] The natives of southern Brazil and Paraguay spread the pineapple throughout South America, and it eventually reached the Caribbean. Columbus discovered it in 1493 in the Indies and brought it back with him to Europe[16] thus making the pineapple the first bromeliad to leave the New World.[17] The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines, Hawaii (introduced in the early 19th century, first commercial plantation 1886), Zimbabwe and Guam. Many say the fruit was first introduced in Hawaii when a Spanish ship brought them there in the 1500s.[18] 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 in Hawaii. Large-scale pineapple cultivation by U.S. 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[19] and started a pineapple plantation in 1900.[20] 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 (24 ha) of land in 1901, and, as previously mentioned, has grown into a major company today. Maui Pineapple Company began pineapple cultivation on the island of Maui in 1909.[21] In 2006, Del Monte announced its withdrawal from pineapple cultivation in Hawaii, leaving only Dole and Maui Pineapple Company in Hawaii as the USA's largest growers of pineapples. Maui Pineapple Company markets its Maui Gold brand of pineapple and Dole markets its Hawaii Gold brand of pineapple.

Source: Wikipedia