Pink Pineapple
Dec 14, 2023, 5:01 pm
#16
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Join Date: Mar 2008
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I worked 12-hour shifts at the Dole cannery the summer I got out of school. You see a lot of pineapples each night.
There were three lady supervisors in charge of the entire canning floor, and line ladies in charge of each line.
Only a couple times that summer, a 'sweet pine' came down the line. When one was spotted, the table lady immediately called the three supervisors. They got first bite, then the table lady, and then the workers. I didn't really understand the first time - I cut a bite, popped it in my mouth and almost melted. Of course, I immediately went for a second bite and got my knuckles rapped with the table lady's knife.
'Sweet pine' was never a whole pineapple - only part. You learn to recognize it. It is part of the pineapple that has reached absolute perfect peak ripeness and when you see it on the line, it's only been picked less than a day earlier.
It was so rare that there was a strict protocol in the cannery - the three supervisors, all of whom had been working there for many years, still dropped everything for a rare bite of 'sweet pine'.
I will never taste 'sweet pine' again in my lifetime - the odds are simply against. But all these years later, I still remember the taste. Probably the closest I will ever get to tasting ambrosia.
There were three lady supervisors in charge of the entire canning floor, and line ladies in charge of each line.
Only a couple times that summer, a 'sweet pine' came down the line. When one was spotted, the table lady immediately called the three supervisors. They got first bite, then the table lady, and then the workers. I didn't really understand the first time - I cut a bite, popped it in my mouth and almost melted. Of course, I immediately went for a second bite and got my knuckles rapped with the table lady's knife.
'Sweet pine' was never a whole pineapple - only part. You learn to recognize it. It is part of the pineapple that has reached absolute perfect peak ripeness and when you see it on the line, it's only been picked less than a day earlier.
It was so rare that there was a strict protocol in the cannery - the three supervisors, all of whom had been working there for many years, still dropped everything for a rare bite of 'sweet pine'.
I will never taste 'sweet pine' again in my lifetime - the odds are simply against. But all these years later, I still remember the taste. Probably the closest I will ever get to tasting ambrosia.
Dec 14, 2023, 10:26 pm
#19
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I figured when GMO came up in post 1 that this thread would devolve into questionable logic about plant science (again) but it’s really outdone itself in a few posts.
Dec 15, 2023, 9:03 am
#20
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Dec 15, 2023, 9:27 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SFO
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Posts: 7,375
I worked 12-hour shifts at the Dole cannery the summer I got out of school. You see a lot of pineapples each night.
There were three lady supervisors in charge of the entire canning floor, and line ladies in charge of each line.
Only a couple times that summer, a 'sweet pine' came down the line. When one was spotted, the table lady immediately called the three supervisors. They got first bite, then the table lady, and then the workers. I didn't really understand the first time - I cut a bite, popped it in my mouth and almost melted. Of course, I immediately went for a second bite and got my knuckles rapped with the table lady's knife.
'Sweet pine' was never a whole pineapple - only part. You learn to recognize it. It is part of the pineapple that has reached absolute perfect peak ripeness and when you see it on the line, it's only been picked less than a day earlier.
It was so rare that there was a strict protocol in the cannery - the three supervisors, all of whom had been working there for many years, still dropped everything for a rare bite of 'sweet pine'.
I will never taste 'sweet pine' again in my lifetime - the odds are simply against. But all these years later, I still remember the taste. Probably the closest I will ever get to tasting ambrosia.
There were three lady supervisors in charge of the entire canning floor, and line ladies in charge of each line.
Only a couple times that summer, a 'sweet pine' came down the line. When one was spotted, the table lady immediately called the three supervisors. They got first bite, then the table lady, and then the workers. I didn't really understand the first time - I cut a bite, popped it in my mouth and almost melted. Of course, I immediately went for a second bite and got my knuckles rapped with the table lady's knife.
'Sweet pine' was never a whole pineapple - only part. You learn to recognize it. It is part of the pineapple that has reached absolute perfect peak ripeness and when you see it on the line, it's only been picked less than a day earlier.
It was so rare that there was a strict protocol in the cannery - the three supervisors, all of whom had been working there for many years, still dropped everything for a rare bite of 'sweet pine'.
I will never taste 'sweet pine' again in my lifetime - the odds are simply against. But all these years later, I still remember the taste. Probably the closest I will ever get to tasting ambrosia.
Anywhere they grow pineapple and allow them to fully ripen in the fields, you're going to have the sweetest and tastiest pineapple ever. You can smell the pineapple from several feet away.
Dec 15, 2023, 12:35 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 2013
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But your question is shocking and most definitely defies all natural laws. If we need more legislation banning the foods we eat, this should come long before a pink pineapple.
Dec 15, 2023, 3:02 pm
#23
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The commercial pineapple cultivars are like the Cavendish bananas. May flower (purple blue flower) but there's no seeds.
Last edited by YVR Cockroach; Dec 15, 2023 at 3:11 pm
Dec 15, 2023, 4:26 pm
#24
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You can't get good pineapples in Australia – they're too sour – but I had a place in Costa Rica a few years ago and one of those pineapples would fill the house with a sweet smell they were so good.
Dec 15, 2023, 6:45 pm
#25
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Northern California
Programs: UA Premier Gold, 1.5 Million Mile Flyer
Posts: 3,547
I have worked at several pineapple farms and shipping ports in Mindinao. At certain times of the year, juice will literally squirt out when the top is cut off. Incredible stuff. Most/all of that fruit goes to Asia and Europe. None to the US unfortunately.
Jan 29, 2024, 7:17 pm
#26
Join Date: Dec 2023
Posts: 25
I worked 12-hour shifts at the Dole cannery the summer I got out of school. You see a lot of pineapples each night.
There were three lady supervisors in charge of the entire canning floor, and line ladies in charge of each line.
Only a couple times that summer, a 'sweet pine' came down the line. When one was spotted, the table lady immediately called the three supervisors. They got first bite, then the table lady, and then the workers. I didn't really understand the first time - I cut a bite, popped it in my mouth and almost melted. Of course, I immediately went for a second bite and got my knuckles rapped with the table lady's knife.
'Sweet pine' was never a whole pineapple - only part. You learn to recognize it. It is part of the pineapple that has reached absolute perfect peak ripeness and when you see it on the line, it's only been picked less than a day earlier.
It was so rare that there was a strict protocol in the cannery - the three supervisors, all of whom had been working there for many years, still dropped everything for a rare bite of 'sweet pine'.
I will never taste 'sweet pine' again in my lifetime - the odds are simply against. But all these years later, I still remember the taste. Probably the closest I will ever get to tasting ambrosia.
There were three lady supervisors in charge of the entire canning floor, and line ladies in charge of each line.
Only a couple times that summer, a 'sweet pine' came down the line. When one was spotted, the table lady immediately called the three supervisors. They got first bite, then the table lady, and then the workers. I didn't really understand the first time - I cut a bite, popped it in my mouth and almost melted. Of course, I immediately went for a second bite and got my knuckles rapped with the table lady's knife.
'Sweet pine' was never a whole pineapple - only part. You learn to recognize it. It is part of the pineapple that has reached absolute perfect peak ripeness and when you see it on the line, it's only been picked less than a day earlier.
It was so rare that there was a strict protocol in the cannery - the three supervisors, all of whom had been working there for many years, still dropped everything for a rare bite of 'sweet pine'.
I will never taste 'sweet pine' again in my lifetime - the odds are simply against. But all these years later, I still remember the taste. Probably the closest I will ever get to tasting ambrosia.
Jan 31, 2024, 11:44 pm
#27
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,920
Depending on where you are located it might not be difficult, although wait time could be a while.... search Youtube for growing pineapple from grocery. Keep in mind that you need to use a pineapple sourced from within the US if you are in the US (they irradiate a good chunk of produce that they import so those would likely not be viable)
Feb 3, 2024, 11:55 am
#28
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Big difference (IMnshO) between cross-breeding and GMO. Cross-breeding theoretically could occur in nature, should the pineapple and tomato (or pick your fruit) be able to conceive in nature. If the good folks at UC Davis decide to genetically modify the Ananas with lycopene, troublesome. Who knows - a spiky tomato could escape the lab!
Apr 12, 2024, 1:39 pm
#29
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Join Date: Nov 1999
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Depending on where you are located it might not be difficult, although wait time could be a while.... search Youtube for growing pineapple from grocery. Keep in mind that you need to use a pineapple sourced from within the US if you are in the US (they irradiate a good chunk of produce that they import so those would likely not be viable)
IME, takes 3 years from top rooting to fruiting. The 1st plant put out a fruit 3 years later and again 2 years after that. Another supermarket top also took 3 years to put out its first fruit.
As an aside, was in Malaysia and there's a whole bunch of cultivars, none of which are like the Dole/Del Monte sterile cultivars found in N. America. Taste different too.
Apr 12, 2024, 11:04 pm
#30
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,920
Came back from a 6 week trip and found that one of my myriad of pineapples has put out a bud. This currently-fruiting plant was the top from a pineapple that fruited in 2021 from a pineapple purchased from a supermarket in 2018. So this new plant is putting out a 2nd generation fruit in a very non-tropical country.
IME, takes 3 years from top rooting to fruiting. The 1st plant put out a fruit 3 years later and again 2 years after that. Another supermarket top also took 3 years to put out its first fruit.
As an aside, was in Malaysia and there's a whole bunch of cultivars, none of which are like the Dole/Del Monte sterile cultivars found in N. America. Taste different too.
IME, takes 3 years from top rooting to fruiting. The 1st plant put out a fruit 3 years later and again 2 years after that. Another supermarket top also took 3 years to put out its first fruit.
As an aside, was in Malaysia and there's a whole bunch of cultivars, none of which are like the Dole/Del Monte sterile cultivars found in N. America. Taste different too.