Sunday, March 29, 2009

Challenge Ingredient: Pineapple

I chose pineapple this week for a few reasons. One, it's a yummy ingredient that is not used very often. Two, we were able to get a whole bunch of it on sale recently. And three, my birthday is tomorrow (the 30th) and I was born in Hawaii, so I thought pineapple would be a good ingredient choice to celebrate!

Here is a little "tidbit" I found out about pineapple on Wikipedia:
The word pineapple in English was first recorded in 1398, when it was originally used to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit, they called them pineapples (term first recorded in that sense in 1664) because of their resemblance to what is now known as the pine cone. The term pine cone was first recorded in 1694 and was used to replace the original meaning of pineapple.[3]

I don't know if you guys find that exciting, but I thought it was kind of interesting.

I found a great video from Epicurious on YouTube describing how to choose a ripe pineapple and how to cut it up. Follow this link to check it out.

Probably my favorite food containing pineapple is a Hawaiian pizza. But, grilled pineapple made to perfection is great, too. I will have to ask my hubby for his grilled pineapple recipe, 'cause it is delish!

Good luck this week in your pineapple adventures. If you have been afraid to buy fresh pineapple, now's the time to conquer your fear!

2 comments:

Sal-my-gal said...

I started buying fresh pineapple a couple years ago. They are delish! Now I don't care for the canned stuff. It will kill your knives, but totally worth it! Word to the wise; eating too much will "burn" your tongue. Gotta love it. Once you go fresh, you'll never go back.

Jill said...

For those that live in the Provo area, you can get pineapple 4/$5 this week, until Wednesday, at Sunflower Markets in Orem. That is CHEAP! And Happy Birthday Jillian!