Pineapple is a berry or a fruit? Description and useful properties of pineapple. How to choose the right pineapple?

Pineapple is a tropical plant whose belonging to this or that group is still controversial. But no one can argue with the fact that it contains a large number of vitamins and nutrients. And people's love for pineapple is simply boundless, this can be judged by the amount of the product imported from abroad.

Where does pineapple come from?

It is believed that native pineapple from sunny Brazil, since its expanses are still growing its wild thickets. Widespread fame was obtained after the travel of Christopher Columbus, who discovered them in Central America on the island of Guadeloupe. It happened in 1493 year. Since then, pineapple continues its solemn procession across all European countries.

A rare fruit was brought into unusual for him cold conditions and, strangely enough, dissolved in greenhouses. In the enclosed ground pineapple was grown for filing to royal and imperial tables. There is information that in the XVIII - XIX centuries plants were grown in cold snowy Russia to meet the needs of the yard. Each fruit was worth its weight in gold.

Now pineapples are bred and cultivated in regions with a tropical and subtropical climate, such as Australia, North Africa, Hawaii and many others. Thanks to excellent transport links, fruits come to the table of customers in abundance.

What does pineapple look like?

Not everyone knows that pineapple is a perennial herb. Its growth reaches one meter, while the leaves have a length of 80-90 centimeters. They have spines around the edges, which is an obstacle to harvesting, which is done manually.

The fruit is an inflorescence of a large number of small berries. The color of pineapple is yellow or slightly brownish, at the moment of flowering and depending on the variety it can reach purple. Fetal weight can reach fifteen kilograms, and the smallest has only eight hundred grams. The plantations grow the five most common and yielding varieties.

Breeders brought out the appearance of pineapple with a smooth crust, which is very easy to clean. The size of the fruit of this variety is not very large, and the weight is 800 grams.

Pineapple - a vegetable, a fruit or a berry?

Until now, since the discovery of Columbus plants, people do not stop arguing about what pineapple is. There are versions that this plant is cereal, since the structure of the stem resembles the habitual cultures of this species. A group of people claim that pineapple is a vegetable. As an argument, it is argued that it grows on the ground.

Indeed, it is interesting to know whether pineapple is a berry or a fruit? There is valid evidence for each version. At the moment of growth and maturation, pineapple is a lot of small berries collected in one inflorescence. When the plant ripens, they turn into one big fruit, reaching five kilograms. Nevertheless, the question of whether pineapple is a berry or a fruit does not disappear. After all, he does not have bones. Hence, many conclude that the fruit can be a fruit.

In all disputes on the topic, pineapple is a berry or a fruit, one thing remains unchanged, a plant, indeed, unique. It does not cease to amaze all the new properties discovered by scientists.

What does pineapple consist of?

Pineapple is not just a delicious treat for children and adults. It has a lot of useful properties that hide in its composition. The juicy fruit consists of 86 percent of water, 15 of sucrose. It contains 0.7 percent lemon and 50 percent ascorbic acid. All the most valuable vitamins, such as B1, B2, 12, PP and provitamin A, are abundantly present in every fruit.

In addition to the above components, the pineapple contains many useful chemical elements. The flesh of the fruit abounds in iron and potassium, which are necessary for the qualitative work of the heart. And copper, zinc, calcium, manganese and iodine contribute to the overall strengthening and improvement of the body. This plant is a storehouse of vigor and health.

Pineapple treatment

All components of pineapple fruits are necessary for organic work of the human body, so it must enter the diet of constant nutrition for both children and adults. In addition, using it in certain cases, you can avoid unpleasant pain.

For the proper functioning of the digestive system, it is necessary to drink one glass of pineapple juice while eating. Especially useful is this effective tool in case of abundant consumption of meat and fatty foods, which, under the influence of enzymes that make up the fetus, is more quickly digested. This helps to avoid indigestion.

Pineapple in dietetics

Pineapple is a wonderful dietary dish. It can be used without restrictions by everyone who wants to get rid of excess weight. Calorie content of fresh pineapple is only 48 kilocalories per hundred gram of product. Calcium, contained in the flesh of the fetus, promotes the removal of excess fluid and disposal of excess kilograms. Eating dessert from pineapple, you can continue to lose weight, as when using it, digestion is established. The calorie content of fresh pineapple is a godsend for modern dietetics.

In Russia, from the 18th century, exotic overseas fruit was not only fresh, but also sipped for cabbage in the tubs. At the same time, the dish was considered delicious and spicy.

How to grow pineapple at home?

Producers and planters of southern countries can grow pineapples in the open ground, which they have been doing for many centuries to the delight of buyers. In a temperate climate, this is much more difficult to do, but there is nothing real if there is a desire.

Grow pineapple can be in a city apartment, creating him suitable conditions. Since there is no seed in the fetus, it is planted in the form of a rosette or a cut of the apex without pulp. This part of the fruit is placed in a pot filled with earth and charcoal. As a top layer, humus mixed with sand can be used.

In order for the plant to take root, it must be kept warm at a temperature of 27 degrees, while covering it with polyethylene. So in a humid warm environment the sprout should be two months. After that it is permissible to open it. The first lower appendages that appear should be prikopat.

Pour the pineapple with an acidic aqueous solution with lemon juice. To transplant a plant it is necessary annually in pots of the big sizes, thus to not forget to bring fertilizers. With proper care, fruits can be obtained four years after planting.

How to determine the ripeness of the fetus?

Ripe pineapple is delicious, juicy and aromatic, with various useful properties. But it is necessary to acquire and consume the ripened fruits. A green fruit does not have the qualities that are necessary.

First of all, unripe pineapple is very sour, it will be difficult to eat, and later in the corners of the lips and in the mouth may form cracks. This causes unpleasant pain.

Secondly, from the use of immature pineapple, diarrhea can begin, which will lead to dehydration of the body.

On the question of how to choose a delicious pineapple, you can answer the following: you need to pay attention to the upper feathers. If they are easily pulled out, then the fruit is ready for use.

Purchase of pineapple

In order to get a really good quality tropical fruit, you need to know how to choose pineapple in the store. This will help the following rules:

• An intact pineapple does not have a characteristic odor if it is carried from the nose to the distance of the outstretched arm. Otherwise, the sellers obviously took advantage of the flavors. And if you sniff the fruit, bringing it to the face, and not to feel the delicate aroma, it means - it is stale goods, which was subjected to "water procedures". It was simply washed to remove mold and an unpleasant odor.
• At purchase it is necessary to examine well a pineapple to not get a moldy product. It is dangerous to eat.
• The color of the ripe and delicious fruit should be yellow with a grayish shade without any green impregnations. Greens indicate an unripe fruit, and it is better to avoid eating it.
• Scales should be resilient. Soft fruit can be rotten from the inside, which will spoil the mood of the buyer, given the high cost of the goods.
• The tips of flakes in ripe pineapple are usually dried, otherwise it can be concluded that the storage conditions were not met, and this leads to damage to the fetus.
• The tail of the ripe pineapple should not sit tightly and be scrolled. In this case, you can be sure of the ripeness of the product.

Knowing these subtleties, you can question how to choose pineapple in a store, remove from the agenda and boldly go shopping. But at the same time it is necessary to take into account that this exotic goods are not very profitable to throw out, therefore sellers often go for various tricks.

Canned pineapple

A very popular delicacy among children is compote of exotic fruits. Canned pineapples are sold in tin cans of various sizes.

When buying such a product, it is necessary to pay attention first of all to the expiry date of the goods, it should not exceed the permissible norms. Usually information of this kind can be found on the lid.

Inside, you can not look, so you need to examine the jar from the outside. Dents and damage indicate poor transportation. In this case, the product contained in the package could become depressurized and become hazardous to health.

Blown banks indicate a violation during cooking and storage. Most likely, the content will be sour and fermented, that is unsuitable for food. When buying canned pineapples, you must be very careful not to harm your health.

Pineapple cooking

Since pineapple is a very useful and tasty product, it is an ingredient of many spicy and unusual dishes. Culinary delights based on fruit are quite diverse. It is a part of salads, desserts and second courses.

Recipes with pineapple can be found in cookbooks. Mistresses on the note are offered a tasty and aromatic hot dish. It is called "Stuffed Chicken Pineapple".

To make it, you need one big fruit, chicken fillet, cheese and seasoning.

Pineapple should be cut along and cleaned from it with pulp. Chopped chicken meat is fried in vegetable oil with salt and kari added. Before removing from the fire in the pan, you need to put pieces of pineapple and put out for another three minutes. Cheese hard varieties grate on a large grater.

In the pineapple baskets, the filling is laid out and sprinkled with cheese. Then this culinary stock is placed on a baking sheet and baked for 15 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees. To eat a dish is better when hot.

Recipes with pineapple are very popular with children. For small gourmets, you can prepare a fruit salad. In it you can put a banana, kiwi, apple, grape seedless and mandarin. All fruits and berries are crushed, including pineapple, and mixed. Products should be taken in equal proportions. The resulting mixture is poured with yogurt, mixed and decomposed into portions. The dish is prepared quickly and very like children.

Pineapple is a wonderful product that not only evokes pleasant emotions from eating, but also produces a healing effect. This exotic fruit should enter the diet of each person, as it will help to avoid many health problems.