Pineapple: A Global History

Edible

by Kaori O'Connor

‘Too ravishing for moral taste . . . like lovers’ kisses she bites – she is a pleasure bordering on pain, from the fierceness and insanity of her relish’ wrote the poet Charles Lamb about the pineapple, the fruit that seduced the world. From the moment Christopher Columbus discovered it on a Caribbean island on 4 November 1493, the pineapple became an object of passion and desire, in a culinary romance that anthropologist Kaori O’Connor follows across time and cultures.
The first New World explorers called the pineapple the apple with which Eve must have tempted Adam. Transported to Europe where it could only be grown in hothouses at vast expense, the pineapple became an elite mania, the fruit of kings and aristocrats. Soon established as the ultimate status symbol, London society hostesses would rent a pineapple at great cost for a single evening to be the centrepiece of their parties, and pineapples were as popular in the new American republic, where they were a sign of hospitality and a favourite of George Washington. Celebrated in art and literature, pineapples remained a seasonal luxury for the rich until fast shipping and then refrigeration meant they could be brought to the major markets of Europe and America, but these imported fruit were never as luscious as those eaten fresh and ripe in the tropics. Then the pineapple found its ideal home in Hawaii, the invention of canning made perfect golden fruit available and affordable all year round and the Fruit of Kings became the Queen of Fruits for all.
Pineapple is a culinary love story enriched with vivid illustrations and irresistible recipes from around the world for eating and drinking the pineapple.

Genres: Food, History, Nonfiction, Food and Drink

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2013

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, brief chronology of the pineapple.

[Mirani Litster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had recently taken an interest in pineapples after reading a Converstion piece online and seeing a red pineapple at the Auckland Botanic Gardens. So I turned to this book as a starting point — an engaging quick read, taking the reader through the history of the consumption of the fruit, from origins in Brazil, through to its accrual of high status in Britain and Europe, to the Hawaiian industry and the global markets today.

[Randolph Breschini · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMENDED REVIEW…

After seeing the comments on my Onion & Garlic Book Review, I realized I could tell much more about my pineapple experience! So here goes…

The King’s Fruit…pineapple

I’ve spent half of my career working in, around, and with pineapple Hawaii-Honolulu, Oahu, and Lanai, and Mindanao in the Philippines. I’ve seen pineapple in many wet markets and modern retail markets from Europe to the USA to South Asia to Southeast Asia to Africa . I’ve studied pineapple growing in the Philippines, India, Costa Rica, and even Mozambique

I started in San Francisco working in Supply Chain for Dole Food Company, the packaged foods division. In my interview, the HR Director’s first question was, “Are you willing to live anywhere in the world?”😱. Of course, I said, “Yeah, sure” not realizing what that meant. After 3 years and many trips to Honolulu, I took a 2-month look-see and tour of Dole’s Asian pineapple businesses in the Philippines and Thailand. Arriving back in San Francisco, the VP Operations, Jose Itchon, after telling me that I was well received in Asia, asked where I wanted to work? Of course, I said, “Thailand!” He said, “NO. we are sending you to Honolulu!” And I said, “NO…that divisions is so EFFED UP!” He said, “Exactly, that’s why we are sending you there!”

I moved to Honolulu as Logistics Manager, responsible for about 250 people and three departments. After much frustration I was thinking of leaving Dole, but Bob Hawthorne, one of my business career mentors, moved to Honolulu from Thailand to assume the General Manager role. I was thrilled. He and his wife Lek live half hour from us today here in Thailand and we are still very good friends. Within two months, Bob promoted me to Operations Manager, responsible for 800 people and seven departments. It was a difficult job…old factory, hard to find new employees, high costs, etc.! But I always loved when I would walk through the factory and smell the pineapple juice being filled into cans, climb to the rooftop of our six-story warehouse looking a few miles south to see Waikiki Beach, and spend time with my team in the little bars around the factory eating pupus and drinking beer! One department reporting to me was the Tug & Barge Operation. We hauled pineapple in bins on barges over the ocean from the island of Lanai to Honolulu! It was interesting to say the least! One day, Bob called a meeting to tell us…Dole had decided to CLOSE THE HONOLULU FACTORY! UGH…We couldn’t say anything! UGH! I was, along with the Agricultural Manager, facing hundreds of employees daily with this knowledge…it was tough. I was again , thinking of leaving Dole.

Then, the President of Dole, Mike Binder, called me to tell me that he was flying to Honolulu and wanted to meet with me? When we met, he told me that my friend, Earl Thomas in the Philippines, was leaving the company and that he wanted me to move to the Philippines! WOW! So after our daughter Tracy was born in the Kapiolani Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the same hospital in which Barack Obama was born many years earlier, and 6-weeks later, we were living on a compound on a pineapple plantation on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. (Elise was born two years later back in Honolulu). I worked for Tom Oliver who promoted me to Director Operations after 4-months. Working alongside me at Dole were many still friends today - Jon Rodacy, Earl Teshima, Earl Thomas, Ab Brum, Mike Binder, Ed O’Malley, Lapu Esma, Erik Kramer, Brian Orlopp, Roy Ortiz, John Casazza, Lee Nielsen, Chuck Nordhoff, Jun Salomia, Delfin Paycana, Rod Sevilla, Chris Hubbard, Peter Jensen, Paul Larsen, and many others! Later in my career when asked which was my favorite job, I immediately would reply, Dole Philippines. Reporting to me were more than 2,000 employees and nine departments. I LOVED THE PHILIPPINES. The people and culture are so, so, so great! So many fond memories. It was so, so, so easy for me to work there.

I left Dole after ten years. But 3.5 years later, I joined Del Monte as VP Asia-Pacific based in Hong Kong. It was a great job. My boss, Hani El-Naffy, taught me so, so, so much about the produce industry, how to read and understand people, and how to think commercially! At Del Monte, we were the only company which had the wonderful MD-2 pineapple, the pineapple found today globally in fresh, wholesale, and retail markets. After putting in place the right team, we proceeded to fix, improve, and expand our small pineapple plantation in the Philippines. Over six-years we tripled our volumes, mainly selling into Japan! Working alongside me were many still friends today – Tony Saiz, Monica Vicente, Louie Tenazas, Jimmy Tenazas, Jose Antonio-Yock, Sergio Mancilla, Helmuth Lutty, Tom Iijima, KH Kang, Shirley Chan, Jose Lopez, Jeffrey Linkemer, and many others!

Today, during our morning walks, Monicah buys every morning a MD-2 pineapple, which the vendor cuts for her. I know it is MD-2 because it has a small crown, is golden, and smells so wonderful! This beautiful fruit was developed by the Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii. MD stands for Maggie Dillard, the wife of the Del Monte General Manager in Hawaii at the time! ONLY Del Monte initially took the fruit and propagated it. It is one of the great success stories in the fruit industry.

In Mozambique, John Casazza and I found some pineapple being grown. It was pretty basic. We even looked at a beautiful potential site near Dar Es Salam Tanzania to develop a pineapple plantation. In the end, we just had too, too, too many huge projects already underway and decided to scrap the idea!

I loved working in the pineapple industry…many, many, many fond memories

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ahh pineapples....a fruit I disliked for many years and only began to warm up to it the past few years. This book provided a lot of interesting information and history behind about pineapples. I'm glad I read this book and now have a bit more respect towards this lovely fruit.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn a bit of history about pineapples, but if it wasn't a required text for class I wouldn't pick it up on my own time if I saw it in a book store.

[Murder She Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this one! It's full of information about the pineapple, how to use it in the kitchen, where it came from, and how it was used in the old days!

[Lindsay Gasik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few of these fruit chronologies now, and this is one of the better ones. It's well written, concise, filled with lots of interesting facts (even if sometimes it reads like a list of "Did you knows..?) and an easy read. I like pineapple a little better for having read it.

[Kamilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about the history of pineapple from fruit of the native indigenous people in Brazil to fruit of the kings in Europe.