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The
pineapple plant is a tropical fruit that is indigenous to South America.
Originally coming from the area between southern Brazil and
Paraguay.
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The
pineapple spread throughout South America, the Caribbean, Central America and
Mexico, where it was cultivated by the Mayas and the Aztecs. Columbus came
across the pineapple in 1493 and took it back to Europe.
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The
word 'pineapple' was recorded in 1398 to describe 'pine cones'. It was not
until 1694 that pine cones were first called pine cones. On arrival to the
Americas, European explorers called the tropical fruit pineapples around 1664
because they resembled the pine cone.
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An
individual pineapple can take over two years to grow, although they are
usually picked slightly earlier than this.
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The
most famous pineapple entrepreneur was James Dole who moved to Hawaii and
started a pineapple plantation in 1900, just after John Kidwell first
introduced a pineapple industry to Hawaii. 'Dole' is still a major company in
the pineapple industry today.
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The
top of a pineapple, after cleaning and drying, can be planted in soil and a
new plant will grow.
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When
growing its fruit the pineapple plant produces over 200 flowers varying
in color from lavender, through to light purple and red. The individual
scale like fruits of these flowers then join together to create the pineapple.
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The
individual fruit segments of a pineapple interlock in two helices, 8 in one
direction, 13 in the other, each of which is a Fibonacci number.
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Pineapple
flesh and juice is used in many cuisines throughout the world, it is often
cooked, eaten raw or canned in its juices as chunks or cored slices. It is a
commonly used fruit for fruit salads and eaten with dairy desserts such as
ice cream and yogurt. It is also used in Asian stir fry's such as sweet and
sour pork or as a topping on pizzas such as the Hawaiian pizza.
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Most
tropical countries sell pineapple on roadsides as a snack either whole or
halved. Pineapple juice is also a popular tropical drink and it is the main
ingredient in the Piña colada cocktail.
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The
skins, core and ends of a pineapple are not discarded in pineapple canneries
but instead used to make a number of products such as vinegar, alcohol and
animal food.
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Raw
pineapple can be a great source of manganese and vitamin C. Also bromelain is
an enzyme that breaks down protein and is present in raw pineapple making the
fruit useful as a digestive aid and an effective anti-inflammatory.
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High
bromelain content also makes raw pineapple juice helpful as a meat marinade
and tenderizer.
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As
of 2009, the Southeast Asian countries of the Philippines and Thailand were
the top two producers of pineapple in the world followed by Costa Rica.
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