Pineapple is one tempting, tropical beauty. She is all juicy nutrition and golden curves to entice you to savor a little more fruit in your diet.
Also known as: Nanas, meaning “excellent fruit”, Pine of the Indies
Likes: Tropical climates
Dislikes: Cold weather, ending up stuck as a table centerpiece
Hobbies: Welcoming home travelers, being the life of the party from fruit trays to wine in some areas
Find her: Adorning traditional dishes like ham, juiced for a sweet treat, livening up salsa, adding a surprisingly fresh and festive flavor to fish
Pineapple is one tempting, tropical beauty. She is all juicy nutrition and golden curves to entice you to savor a little more fruit in your diet. Quite frankly, who wouldn’t want to welcome her to the meal? She is always on the lookout for the next dish to sweeten up, and she doesn’t just stop at dessert. She adorns crisp salads, adds a fresh and unexpected sweetness to fish and meat and can help cool the spice of chili in sauces and salsas.
This sweet girl can be a simple and tasty snack, but she is more complex than you might expect. She’s actually made up of a mass of individual berries combined together into one. This helps explain some of the extra work you may have to put in if you buy her whole instead of pre-cut.
Pineapple is a world traveler these days, but she originally hales from South America. It was there that the famous explorer, Christopher Columbus, succumbed to her charms and decided to take her home to Spain and beyond. She is now grown around the world, from Thailand to Brazil to Hawaii and the Philippines, and she has become a symbol of welcome in many of them.
In addition to her sweetness, here are a few of Pineapple’s key vitamins and minerals that make her a must for your plate:
Manganese– plays a role in a healthy metabolism, among other things
Bromelain – may help reduce inflammation
Vitamin C – boosts the immune system and may play a role in preventing dementia. Pineapple and her citrus friends are always ready to help you battle that cold or flu!
Add Pineapple to your next meal for her health benefits or just a juicy taste of the tropics. To get started, try this recipe from Chili’s or one of these recipes from Cooking Light.