I've been in Honolulu for the last few months and am heading back to Ohio for the Holidays and have been asked to bring pineapples. I have looked around for options other than paying the inflated prices airside at HNL but not found many options.
So far these were the ideas I have:
1) Go to Dole Plantation and buy pre-packed box of 5/6 pineapples for $33.
2) Pay high prices @ HNL but only get a couple pineapples.
3) Buy some at local store and pack in luggage. Recently read a couple posts online that they will pass agriculture inspection as long as there is no soil on them. Anyone have any experience doing this?
4) Call Dole Plantation to see if they have airport pick-up option.
This leads to another question of if the airlines charge for checking a case of pineapples. I have read that some do and some don't but can't find any definitive answers for each airline including what size is allowed. I am flying AA would definitely prefer to be able to check them free. If they are going to charge I would rather pack them in my larger carry-on bag and check the whole thing in order to get my moneys worth.
If anyone has any knowledge or experience with any of this please let me know. Thanks.
On a side note what is the policy for Maui Onions? Are there special restrictions? They are not specifically listed on the agriculture website.
When you get to Ohio, go to the supermarket and buy them!
I thought about that option but to us those I brought back from Hawaii last time definitely tasted better. Not too mention the majority of pineapples in eastern states are from south america. The low number being grown in Hawaii limits the likely hood of finding them anywhere on the eastern half of the states.
Just buy Del Monte Gold or Dole Premium Select and wait until they are dead ripe. Dragging them home is a pain in the neck and not economic unless you strike a really good buy in Chinatown. Bin there done that. Aloha!
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Go to Costco and buy all the pineapples you want. They are one of the few fruits than can pass ag inspection.
I put them in a box and don't seal it until it comes out of inspection.
You'll be good to go as long as they don't have any soil on them - and the ones Costco sells are clean.
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Second that. Just see if you can pull some center leaves out easily of a nice, golden pineapple... that will do. Schlep is as schlep does...
Quote:
Originally Posted by KenfromDE
Just buy Del Monte Gold or Dole Premium Select and wait until they are dead ripe. Dragging them home is a pain in the neck and not economic unless you strike a really good buy in Chinatown. Bin there done that. Aloha!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary2e
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Go to Costco and buy all the pineapples you want. They are one of the few fruits than can pass ag inspection.
I put them in a box and don't seal it until it comes out of inspection.
You'll be good to go as long as they don't have any soil on them - and the ones Costco sells are clean.
my favorite option too... typically check a full flat- IIRC I can squeeze six of them - a flat - into my carry-on
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beckoa
my favorite option too... typically check a full flat- IIRC I can squeeze six of them - a flat - into my carry-on
We always check 3-6 in our luggage. When I tell the ag inspectors that I have pineapples in my luggage and ask if they want to see them, they always say don't bother. The pineapples have always made the trip back fine.
Easy to buy the Maui Golds at Costco - usually around $3 each. Just remember the extra weight in your luggage - one of our suitcases with the pineapples weighed in at 55 pounds. When I told the agent the pineapples put us over, she just laughed and put an overweight sticker on the bag. No extra fees.
May be a pain - but I don't know anyone who doesn't appreciate a pineapple brought back from Hawaii!
Stopping at HNL for a 36 hour layover on the way back from KWA at the end of January and would like to take some Maui Gold pineapples home to the mainland Gulf Coast area. I don't have Costco access (no stores near my home) and need another source in Oahu for reasonably priced Maui Gold pieapples. Any suggestions? I'll have a rental car, so not limited by transportation.
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There is a HUGE difference in taste and quality between a smaller-farmed local Hawaiian pineapple like Maui Gold and the Central American factory-farmed and gas-ripened piece of crap you buy at your local supermarket in Ohio.
If you really love pineapple, it's worth it to ship some home, but definitely do not buy the airport or Dole Plantation pineapples which are priced for tourists.
I buy 2-3 Maui Gold pineapples from Costco and bring them home. If I get there early enough, they have boxes with lids on them. I put my pineapples in the box, and borrow some packing tape from the service counter to seal the box and make a tape handle so I can carry it around. West coast Costcos and Asian markets will sometimes carry the Maui Golds, so I don't need to go all the way over there to buy them.
I haven't tried the Del Monte versions from Hawaiian supermarkets, so I can't comment on how they compare with the Maui Golds - but don't just go home to Ohio, buy a Central American Dole pineapple from there and think it would be anything like a Hawaiian grown pineapple.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bocastephen
There is a HUGE difference in taste and quality between a smaller-farmed local Hawaiian pineapple like Maui Gold and the Central American factory-farmed and gas-ripened piece of crap you buy at your local supermarket in Ohio.
If you really love pineapple, it's worth it to ship some home, but definitely do not buy the airport or Dole Plantation pineapples which are priced for tourists.
I buy 2-3 Maui Gold pineapples from Costco and bring them home. If I get there early enough, they have boxes with lids on them. I put my pineapples in the box, and borrow some packing tape from the service counter to seal the box and make a tape handle so I can carry it around. West coast Costcos and Asian markets will sometimes carry the Maui Golds, so I don't need to go all the way over there to buy them.
I haven't tried the Del Monte versions from Hawaiian supermarkets, so I can't comment on how they compare with the Maui Golds - but don't just go home to Ohio, buy a Central American Dole pineapple from there and think it would be anything like a Hawaiian grown pineapple.
...and do go there early enough...
was at the HNL costco near the airport, and it was near close... they were out of pineapples and I had a flight to catch the next morning
Thanks for all the help. I trudged through the pouring rain yesterday and bought 6 pineapples @ Costco. They are Dole not Maui Gold but only cost $2 each.
I'm currently at HNL and got through agriculture inspection and security with no problem. I packed 4 in my checked bag and am carrying the other 2 on. My carry-on was too small for all 6 plus I wouldn't have been able to lift it into the overhead.
They definitely have a racket going on here with the pineapples. I am watching someone buy boxes of 2 pineapples for $24. I paid $12.50 for 6.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beckoa
...and do go there early enough...
was at the HNL costco near the airport, and it was near close... they were out of pineapples and I had a flight to catch the next morning
Speaking of that, that particular Costco is a madhouse because there are just so much people in there all the time. I think it does the most business of any Costco in the US.
Slightly OT--they've also started serving gelato at the costco in the outdoor food area. 3 scoops of gelato and a waffle cone for $1.50 can't be beat.
Pineapples and Mainland travel
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