PINEAPPLES

98. Pineapples are grown in the southern part of the United States, on the islands off the southeastern coast, and in Hawaii. They vary in size according to the age of the plants. It requires from 18 to 20 months for the fruit to develop, and the plants yield only four or five crops. Much of this fruit is canned where it is grown, but as it is covered with a heavy skin it will tolerate shipping long distances very well. It is shipped to the market in cases that contain from 24 to 48 pineapples to the case. Usually, for a few weeks during the summer, the price of fresh pineapples is reasonable enough to warrant canning them.

99. The food value of pineapples is slightly lower than that of oranges and apples. However, pineapples have a great deal of flavor, and for this reason they are very valuable in the making of desserts, preserves, marmalades, and beverages of various kinds. It is said that the combination of pineapple and lemon will flavor a greater amount of food than any other fruit combined. Another characteristic of pineapples is that they contain a ferment that acts upon protein material and therefore is sometimes thought to aid considerably in the digestion of food. The probabilities are that this ferment really produces very little action in the stomach, but its effect upon protein material can readily be observed by attempting to use raw pineapple in the making of a gelatine dessert. If the pineapple is put in raw, the gelatine will not solidify; but if the pineapple is heated sufficiently to kill this ferment, it has no effect whatsoever upon the gelatine.

100. SELECTING PINEAPPLES.--When pineapples are to be selected, care should be exercised to see that they are ripe. The most certain way of determining this fact is to pull out the center leaves of each pineapple that is chosen. As shown in Fig. 16, grasp the pineapple with one hand and then with the other pull out, one at a time, several of the center leaves of the tuft at the top. If the fruit is ripe a sharp jerk will usually remove each leaf readily, but the harder the leaves pull, the greener the pineapple is.

An overripe pineapple is just as unsatisfactory as one that is not ripe enough. When a pineapple becomes too ripe, rotten spots begin to develop around the base. Such spots can be easily detected by the discoloration of the skin and such a pineapple should not be selected.

101. PREPARATION OF PINEAPPLE.--Some persons consider pineapple a difficult fruit to prepare, but no trouble will be experienced if the method illustrated in Figs. 17 to 19 is followed. Place the pineapple on a hard surface, such as a wooden cutting board, and with a large sharp knife cut off the tuft of leaves at the top. Then, as shown in Fig. 17, cut the pineapple into 1/2-inch slices crosswise of the head. When the entire pineapple has been sliced, peel each slice with a sharp paring knife, as in Fig. 18. With the peeling removed, it will be observed that each slice contains a number of eyes. Remove these with the point of a knife, as Fig. 19 shows. After cutting out the core from the center of each slice, the slices may be allowed to remain whole or may be cut into pieces of any desirable size or shape. Pineapple prepared in this way is ready either for canning or for desserts in which it is used fresh.

102. PINEAPPLE PUDDING.--One of the most satisfactory desserts made from pineapple is the pudding given here. It is in reality a corn-starch pudding in which grated pineapple is used for the flavoring.

PINEAPPLE PUDDING

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Sufficient to Serve Six

)

Scald the milk by heating it over the fire in a double boiler. Mix the corn starch, sugar, and salt, and dissolve in the cold milk. Add to the scalded milk in the double boiler and cook for about 15 or 20 minutes. Remove from the fire and add the grated pineapple from which all juice has been drained. Then fold in the whites of the eggs beaten stiff. Pour into molds previously dipped in cold water, allow to cool, and serve with cream.