My daughter, Norah, used to ask me on a semi-regular basis what is my favorite fruit? I would tell her pineapple every time she asked.  I don’t know if she wanted to me to give a different answer.  Or she wanted me to reconfirm my love for this wonderful, delicious fruit.

I’ve eaten pineapple since childhood. My mother would have glazed pineapple along with a smoked ham for Thanksgiving dinner. I would always eat the glazed pineapple by itself before having the ham. She would coat the pineapple in dark brown sugar and give that charred look like you can see in the image above. The sweetness of the pineapple and dark brown sugar mixed with that cooked taste was foodie heaven for me.

I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico in late 1990s for five years and a restaurant near downtown named Tucanos Brazilian Grill sold glazed pineapple on a skewer.  I would go to Tucanos just to have their glazed pineapple. So good. So sweet.  So delicious.

Here are some fun facts about pineapple:

1. The pineapple is indigenous to South America. Originally coming from the area between southern Brazil and Paraguay. The fruit spread throughout South America, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, where it was cultivated by the Mayas and the Aztecs. Columbus came across the pineapple in 1493 and took it back to Europe.
2. The word ‘pineapple’ was used to describe pine cones in the late 14th century. It was not until the late 17th century that European used the pineapple to distinguish it from actual pine cones.
3. Pineapple flesh and juice is used in many cuisines throughout the world, it is often cooked, eaten raw or canned in its juices as chunks or cored slices. It is a commonly used fruit for fruit salads and eaten with dairy desserts such as ice cream and yogurt.
4. Hawaii produces one-third of the pineapples in the world.
5. Pineapple takes about 18 months to harvest, and the leaves can grow a new plant.
6. Eating pineapples may reduce the time to recover from surgery or exercise. This is largely because of the anti-inflammatory properties of bromelain. Bromelain is an enzyme in pineapples that people can take as a supplement.

There are many facts about pineapple and it’s a favorite for many people around the world.  I’m looking forward to having some glazed pineapple soon!