Matter of Fact Monday: Pineapples

I've been on a pineapple kick for about a year now, ever since I found a place to get one for between $1.99 to $2.49. So my post for this week's Matter of Fact Monday theme of FRUITS is pineapple.

1) We think of pineapple as naitve to Hawaii, but it is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay. It is thought that the Spanish introduced it to the Phillipines in the 16th century, and later to Hawaii and Guam.

2) The most popular pineapple sold in the U.S. is the Smooth Cayenne. The other three varieties sold in the America are the Red Spanish, the Sugar Loaf, and the Golden Supreme.

3) One cup of pineapple has about 135 calories and 33 percent of the RDA of Vitamin C.

4) A pineapple is ripe if one of its top leaves can easily be pulled out.

5) And most interesting...under the you can try this at home category...The bromelain content (enzymes found naturally in the juice and stems) in fresh pineapple keeps gelatin from setting, so you can only use canned pineaple in Jello-O. The canning processes destroys the bromelain.

Sources:
California Rare Fruit Growers

Health Diaries