You can buy fresh pineapple in the supermarket all year round, but the fruit travels a long way. Where exactly does pineapple come from?
Juicy, sweet and refreshing: Pineapple brings a bit of holiday feeling into our everyday lives. But where do these delicious fruits come from and under what conditions do they grow? Pineapples thrive in warm, humid climates with temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees. These conditions can be found in tropical regions or in the greenhouse. Find out more about growing and storing pineapples below.
The pineapple originally comes from South America, where it has been an integral part of the diet for several thousand years. The tasty tropical fruit came to Europe with sailors early on and from there spread worldwide.
The pineapple plant is one of the bromeliads. But unlike its counterparts, it does not grow as a so-called “epiphyte” on another tree, but rather has roots firmly in the earth. But it resembles neither a tree nor a bush.
Many long, narrow leaves grow around the short trunk of the pineapple, which are reminiscent of the fruit’s crest. The pineapple flowers arise at the top of the trunk, where the smaller leaves are. Up to 100 individual flowers can develop per plant. Each of them can become fruit, but not the whole pineapple.
The ripe pineapple is created because the many small berries grow together to form a large fruit during the ripening process, giving it the typical, flaky appearance. It takes more than a year for this process to be completed. Growing pineapples requires a lot of patience.
The tropical vitamin and mineral bomb hardly ripens after harvest. Therefore, you should definitely pay attention to good quality and the right degree of ripeness when purchasing. You can recognize a pineapple that is suitable for immediate consumption by its intense scent and the fact that the peel gives slightly when pressed.
Pineapples are usually not cheap because of the demanding cultivation and long transport routes. It’s best to keep them at room temperature for just a few days, as the refrigerator is not the right place to store the pineapple. The fruit, like the plant, is extremely sensitive to cold.
However, for hygiene reasons, you still need to keep the leftovers of a cut pineapple well packaged in the refrigerator. Before eating, check whether there are brown spots or mold or whether the fruit pieces smell of alcohol. If this is not the case, you can enjoy the pineapple without any worries.
