Pineapple

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

pineapple Ananas comosus, a tropical fruit of impressive appearance and attractive flavour, now grown in hot regions all round the world. The main producers are Hawaii and Malaysia. The bulk of the crop goes for canning.

This is a composite fruit formed of 100–200 berry-like fruitlets fused together, giving its outside a tessellated appearance. It grows on a short stem springing from a low plant with large swordlike leaves, small versions of which form the crown of the fruit. Fruits of normal size (there are miniature forms) average about 15 cm (6"). Weight ranges from around 1 or 2 kg (2 to 5 lb) to an extreme of 10 kg (over 20 lb); but only the Giant Kew variety reaches this extreme.