The pineapple plant is quite unique. The first time I saw a pineapple plant I had to do a double take. On a recent visit to the Dole Plantation on Oahu, I jotted down several interesting points about growing pineapples in Hawaii. Here’s what I learned:
- It take a pineapple plant 20 months to produce the first fruit. After the first fruit is produced and cut, the plant will produce another 2 crops over approximately three years.
- The crown (the green spiky top of the pineapple) is planted to produce a pineapple plant.
- All pineapples are planted and harvested by hand.
- In an acre, you can grow approximately 28,000 pineapples plants.
- Pineapples grow so well in Hawaii because the soil is rich in iron. (That’s also why the soil in most parts of Hawaii is red. The red color is produced by decomposed volcanic ash resulting in oxidized iron in the soil.)
See more photos of pineapple fields and plants from Hawaii with this link to my collection.
Sheila Beal
Andy Beal
14 comments
The first time I saw a pineapple plant was in Hawaii and I was absolutely amazed, I guess I never thought about how they were grown. And my mind was blown away once again when I learned you just took the top the planted it for it to become another plant!
Jim – I think I did a double take when I first saw a pineapple plant. They’re so odd looking, I think.
Hey Sheila!
Happy New Year! I still owe you a comment on your new year’s post to tell you what we ended up doing… I’ll probably soon add a post on kristraveler.com as well with some more tips on restaurants we found…. and oh boy did we eat well… had forgotten how food was amazingly good in hawaii!
Meanwhile, given the topic of this post, I had to share with you something I learned this last trip. It seems that after you take the skin off the pineapple, you can salt the fruit and rub it to eliminate the acid taste and bring out the sweetness. After you rub the salt just wash it with cold water and voila!
I haven’t tried it just yet, but my relatives learned it from hawaiian friends, and seems to be very common among natives.
Cheers! kris
Kris – We have never lost weight after visiting Hawaii. Doh! I’m glad you enjoyed the food while you were there.
Thanks for sharing that salt trick. I’ll have to give it a try.
I love Pineapple Tidbits! 🙂
However… My first few attempts to cut a Pineapple didn’t work so well.
First I tried to cut off the top and then keep cutting it into disks like it was a loaf of bread. That didn’t work so well because removing the skin and the core took a long time.
Then I thought it might be faster to “Peel” it like a potato by holding the top and slicing all the skin off but that made a huge mess…
So… After lots of trial and error – This is my new and improved method for cutting a Pineapple:
First – I cut off the top & bottom.
Then – I cut it lengthwise from top to bottom into about 8, long wedges.
After that – I slice off the core (Tip of the wedge) and the skin by slicing under the fruit.
Lastly – I slice the long wedges into bite-sized pieces and enjoy. 8)
Dave – I’ll definitely use your method of slicing a pineapple next time. That makes so much sense. Thanks for taking the time to share it!
I like the pineapple already cut. It really is a lot of work, at least I think so. I’m probably just lazy. 🙂 Another tidbit about pineapple is that it is a really great ingredient for many of the recipes that make up the local cuisine.
It’s still good all by itself. Love the Maui Gold pineapples! They’re so sweet! Pineapple pie is good too!
Evelyn – I like pineapple in coleslaw in Hawaii.
Now, pineapple pie?! Oh my, that does sound good. Know of any good places to try a slice?
Your outline gives a clear idea why most of the pineapple industry has left Hawaii…to much labor to raise cost effectively.
Aloha,
Keahi
Keahi – I absolutely hate that the pineapple industry is fizzling in Hawaii. I was recently on Lana’i, a.k.a. the Pineapple Isle. While I could see remnants of the pineapple fields, I didn’t see a single pineapple growing. To me, it was sad. I think most people associate pineapples with Hawaii.
Pineapple plants are kind of sharp and pointy.
I went skydiving on the north shore of Oahu once. We drove past one Pineapple field after the next on the way out there. The airfield was surrounded by Pineapple fields.
My greatest fear wasn’t jumping out or plunging to my death but a strong wind blowing us away from the landing zone and into a Pineapple field.
I have lived here for 25 years. One of the first things I learned about pineapples that all the sweet juices drain down to the heel of the pineapple. Thus after cutting off the crown, I turn the pineapple upside down and place it on a plate for about an hour. This allows all the sweetness to permeate back threw the entire pineapple. I then proceed to slice it up. Don’t you always find that the sweetest part of the pineapple is at the heel. Try this method and you will find that each slice tastes the same.
RW – I never knew that the sweetest part was at the bottom. That’s a great cutting method to redistribute the sweetness. Thanks for the comment and sharing the tip!
I didn’t know that either. Hmmmm… must buy a pineapple just to try that! 🙂