POWER OF PINEAPPLE
AS the mango season slowly subsides, I’ve been looking for the next seasonal fruit to showcase across my weekend menus at Kanu. It puzzles me why more restaurants and resorts don’t find creative ways to cook our seasonal produce as it becomes available, and not just display them on the breakfast buffet or fruit platter.
It has become even cheaper to do so during the lockdown, as the demand for fresh fruits and vegetables is much less than what our farmers can harvest. The seasonal over-supply of produce will be the reality in our new post-COVID world. With good rain and hot sunny days, our fertile land will continue to produce world class produce for everyone to enjoy, and in the case of pineapple right now, an opportunity to learn and taste new recipes in both sweet and savoury form. Like most fruits and vegetables, pineapples are a rich source of plant medicine that help to heal and repair.
The high vitamin C content in pineapple helped treat exploring sailors who had contracted scurvy and was a respected medicinal food back in the day. Humankind has lost much of that knowledge today, but there is no better time to rekindle our love of fresh produce, especially if it can help in battling disease whilst tasting exotic and tropical.
Symbol of hospitality
From the very first time that Europeans discovered pineapple more than 600 years ago, it has been integral part of humankind’s coming of age and discovery of medicinal foods in ancient times. Once used as a gift of friendship and hospitality, pineapple was a symbol of humankind’s conquests and colonization of unknown worlds.
Up until the 15th century (1400-1500 CE), pineapples were unknown to the Western world. The plant is indigenous to South America and is said to originate from the area between southern Brazil and Paraguay where they have been enjoyed since ancient times.
History records that Christopher Columbus was the first European to come face to face with the fruit during his second voyage in 1493, when he and his crew found a native Caribbean village that ate pineapple. They tried it and decided to bring it back to their European home. The reputation of pineapples as a symbol of hospitality comes from these Caribbean trips, where Columbus noticed the fruit hanging in front of villages and local huts to welcome strangers.
This display of pineapple as a symbol of hospitality travelled back to America too, where colonial houses began showcasing the pineapple’s image in entrance ways, helping to elevate pineapple as a symbol of decadence and prestige. Returning sailors would also smuggle the fruit back home and place them on their home’s gateposts as a sign of welcoming. This led to the pineapple signifying a sense of welcome, good cheer, warmth and celebration.
Priced like gold
In those early exploration days, anything that came back from the newly discovered native islands was considered gold, including pineapple. Since demand relied on the few shipments between the far-off continents, supply would often be scarce. Members of European royal families soon developed a liking for pineapple, especially those of the noble elite. In America, one pineapple would be sold for as much as the equivalent of US$8000 in today’s money.
Back in Europe the price was no less exotic and expensive, with a pineapple’s value reaching as much as the equivalent of £5,000, or FJ$13,000. However, by the 1700s their abundance turned the once-prestige symbol of affluence into a common fruit that we know today.
Culinary use of pineapple
In the Pacific Islands, we mainly eat the pineapple raw or turn it into a jam or pickle, but its use as an ingredient in cooking will add a new dimension to your dishes. The Chinese and Europeans cook pineapple as deep fried fritters, whilst it is also commonly found in sweet and sour dishes.
The Hawaiians have a delicious roast called Huli huli chicken with pineapple cooked over an open fire. Pineapple is used in many wet dishes to add flavour and sometimes to disguise the gamey flavour of rich meats and seafoods. As a natural sweetener, pineapple is a perfect partner to curries, grilled meats, burgers, toasted sandwiches and more. Pineapples also contain an enzyme called bromelin, which helps breakdown protein and aids in the digestion of foods.
So, as you drive around the island this weekend and see the abundance of pineapple on the side of the road or at the markets, remember how far this exotic fruit has travelled throughout history. It may no longer have the value of gold, but it’s high vitamin C content and sweet golden flesh are priceless. Spiny on the outside and sweet on the inside, the humble pineapple is a symbol of humanity, health and hospitality. Something to appreciate even more during these times of hardship.
Visit Chef Lance Seeto at his KANU restaurant this long weekend and experience his Asian fusion recipes of pineapple.