PINEAPPLE

Home-grown fruit is in rather short supply at this time of year. Save for a few apples and pears that survived past Christmas, the UK farmers’ markets of deepest winter are almost completely bare of fruit. Luckily, however, although the sun might not be shining in this hemisphere, across the globe, it’s ripening all sorts of exotic fruit.

Most UK pineapples are imported from Costa Rica, so you should consider the environmental cost of them being flown all that way. But I’m of the opinion that if you largely buy locally sourced and in-season fruit and vegetables, you can be forgiven for picking up the odd exotic treat now and again.

Pineapples can be problematic. They curdle cream, stop jellies from setting, and finding a ripe specimen can be a needle in a haystack situation. Look for a weighty fruit as this indicates plenty of juice, and a fresh, sweet fragrant scent at the base. Pineapples don’t ripen any further after harvesting so leaving them, hopefully, in the fruit bowl for days on end is futile. When you do happen upon a ripe one, they have a complex, sweet-shop-esque quality with notes of all the classic partners: rum, coconut, vanilla and brown sugar. They hold up well in stir-fries, stews and curries and roast beautifully. Many Asian and south American dishes use it as the acidic element in place of, or as well as, lime. Chopped pineapple with chilli, lime, mint, coriander and salt makes an excellent companion to fried fish, for example.

Perhaps pineapple’s best friend, however, is pork. Whatever your thoughts on a Hawaiian pizza, sweet, tart pineapple is the perfect accompaniment to salty, fatty pork. Use bought or homemade pineapple jam to glaze pork ribs or a roast ham, or throw a few chunks into a coconut-based pork curry or a rich ham and bean stew.

Finally, lest we forget, the staple of the 1980s birthday party in the village hall, the humble cheese and pineapple cocktail stick hedgehog. Say what you like about this combination but those hedgehogs were always spineless by the end of the party. Follow Giovanna on Instagram @giovannaryan