30 Amazing Facts About Pine Apple | Amazing Facts 4U
- Pineapples are thought to have originated in Brazil and Paraguay in South America.
- Scientifically, it is known as “Ananas comosus”.
- Pineapple is a tropical, perennial, drought-tolerant plant that grows up to 5-8 ft in height and spreads around about three to four ft. It is essentially a short, stout stem with a rosette of waxy long, needle-tipped leaves.
- It was spread by the Indians up through South and Central America to the West Indies before Columbus carried it back to Spain from where it spread to the world.
- They were first discovered by Columbus in 1493 on the Caribbean Island now known as Guadeloupe.
- Pineapples, like tomatoes, spread around the world so thoroughly because they were popularly kept onboard ships as protection against scurvy.
- When European explorers first encountered the fruit in the Americas, they called them “pineapples” because of the resemblance to pine cones.
- The pineapple in fact reached England in 1660 and began to be grown in greenhouses for its fruit around 1720.
- The Spanish introduced the first pineapples to Hawaii. The state is now one of the top pineapple producers in the world, producing one-third of the world’s pineapple crop and 60 percent of the world’s canned pineapple.
- In 1911, Henry Ginaca invented the Ginaca machine that could peel and core 35 pineapples per minute, making canned pineapple much easier to produce. Before this, each pineapple had to be peeled and cored by hand.
- Today the largest producers are from South east Asia i.e. Thailand and Philippines. Other major producers are Brazil and Costa Rica.
- It takes almost 3 years for a single pineapple to reach maturation. Pineapple plants have really pretty flowers.
- A pineapple is ripe if one of its top leaves can easily be pulled out.
- Pineapple plants require a frost-free environment. They are small enough to be easily covered when frost threatens and cold weather adversely affects the fruit quality.
- Did you know one pineapple plant produces only one pineapple every 2 years ? A pineapple plant can fruit for up to 50 years in the wild.
- You can plant your own pineapple plant by cutting off the top of a pineapple, allowing it to dry for 2-3 days and planting it in soil.
- The pineapple plant’s flowers which can vary from lavender to bright red produce berries that actually coalesce together around the fruit’s core. So the pineapple fruit itself is in fact a bunch of “fruitlets” fused together.
- Gold pineapples are naturally sweet, high in vitamin C and low in acid and have a much darker golden flesh than traditional smooth pineapples. In fact, one serve (100gm) of Pure Gold pineapple provides your recommended daily intake of Vitamin C ( 35 mg) while Smoothies Pineapple provides about 12 mg.
- Vitamin C and other antioxidants found in pine apple are essential for collagen synthesis, Vitamin C also helps to maintain the integrity of your blood vessels, skin, organs and bones. Antioxidants is also great for boosting your immune system fighting off colds and flu in winter.
- Pineapple is also known for its high level of manganese. The Manganese mineral is an essential element for energy production, while protecting your cells from free radicals. It helps your body use key nutrients including thiamine and biotin, keeps your bones healthy and helps synthesise fatty foods.
- Pineapple is also a rich source in Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene, which helps your immune system, eyesight and protects from free radicals; Vitamins B1 and B6 which are good for energy production and the breakdown of sugars and starches in your digestive system; copper, which helps red blood cell synthesis; and potassium, which assists in controlling the heart rate and blood pressure.
- Once harvested, pineapples don’t continue to ripen. Don’t buy one and save it for a week, thinking it will ripen. In fact, a fully ripe pineapple is quite perishable.
- You should eat it within two days if it’s stored at room temperature and within about a week if it’s refrigerated.
- The sweetest part of a pineapple is its outermost flesh, however, which means you should slice the skin off the sides as thinly as possible and you should leave the eyes (brown spots) .The eyes all lined up in diagonal rows and you can easily cut them out in a small “V” cuts.
- Pineapples are high in fibre, fat free , low in saturated fats , cholesterol and salt free and is excellent for weight loss.
- It is low in calories. 100 g fruit provides just about 50 calories equivalent to that of apples.
- Bromelain is an enzyme contained in pineapple, which breaks down proteins. It’s good for meat tenderizing. It has been shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxant , anti-clotting agent and aids digestion by digesting proteins and it also includes chemicals that interfere with the growth of tumor cells, making pineapple a good food to prevent cancer.
- Bromelain found in pineapples an enzyme that breakdown proteins can also digest proteins in your mouth membranes if kept long enough. So when you eat a pineapple, it is eating you back.
- Because of presence of Bromelain enzyme, you can’t put fresh pineapple in jelly, because it breaks down the gelatin being protein. You can stop this by boiling the chunks of pineapple in their juice or in water for a few minutes or using canned pineapple as canning destroys Bromelain.
- 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.
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