USA_flyer

16 years of design and development has gone into the GM of a pineapple with pink flesh.

I am curious. Has anyone tried one and was it worth it?

Visconti

Had no idea there was such a thing as a pink pineapple. Does it cost more? If so, I'll stick to the yellow ones.

Boggie Dog

No. Not sure I would try one. A good ripe pineapple is pretty good just as nature intended. GMO plants tend to alter taste and in my opinion the alteration makes for a poorer tasting product.

gaobest

I sadly haven’t eaten a pineapple in months. Whacky.

Eastbay1K

Most of the pineapples we currently consume are not as nature intended (if I recall correctly) - they aren't GMO, but they've been cross-bred for an overall lower acid fruit. Ok, so sort of as nature intended

corky

I have seen these for about a year or so and wanted to try one but they are expensive! I might break down. The color comes from lycopene which is the same thing that makes tomatoes red. There is nothing unsafe about it. Lots of fruits are cross bred and modified to make for a better product.

Eastbay1K

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!

Boggie Dog

We're doing an excursion to a pineapple farm while we're in Hawaii next month.

As a kid the only pineapple I was exposed to was canned and I didn't really care for it. While in the Navy we flew to Hawaii for a few days and a group of us decided to drive out to a pineapple farm where I got to sample fresh, ripe pineapple. So much better than the shipped in from wherever fresh pineapple in mainland stores. Such a simple little thing, a first taste of good ripe pineapple, but I cherish that memory. I hope my wife has the same eye opening experience I had and says, "so that's what pineapple is suppose taste like". Might even find time for a cocktail that's garnished with a spear of pineapple.

corky

Which is why I said modified in addition to saying cross bred.

FlyinHawaiian

Haven't tried a pink pineapple but am a huge fan of the white-fleshed pineapple grown on the island of Kaua'i - https://kauaisugarloaf.com/

Boggie Dog , enjoy your trip and remember that one doesn't need to buy any specially-packed or approved for travel pineapples to bring on a plane home. The ones sold at the local Costcos will be the Maui Gold variety. Consolidated "Bringing/shipping pineapples from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland" thread

bensyd

Is any domesticated plant or animal as nature intended? Everything is GMO since man first met the grey wolf.

Don't mind a pina colada, not sure it will taste any better in pink. And how will I know which is the ham and which is the pineapple on the pizza?

Boggie Dog

No plane. Ship out of Long Beach for a 15 day round trip (retirement is good). I plan on bringing a couple back but probably will have to buy at the farm or other vendor. We have 4 port of calls in Hawaii and one in Mexico in order to comply with U.S. law. Four sea days from Hawaii to Mexico then another night on to Long Beach so hoping I can find some not 100% ripe examples.

There's a difference between cross breeding two tomatoes species and genetically changing a tomato plant by inserting some other type plant DNA. That's why we see non-GMO signs in the produce department of stores.

SWCPHX

Very long time career produce guy told me the easier it is to pull a frond out of the top means the riper the pineapple.

chollie

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.

bensyd

It's all selective breeding. Whether someone wants to eat a tomato whose mother was a Beagle is another matter.