Are you headed to buy some pineapples at the market? The best time to buy pineapples is anywhere between March through July. Between these times, you can find pineapples at their peak quality — sweetest and juiciest. But luckily, pineapples are readily available all year round. If you suddenly crave for some pineapple, and do not have an idea how to pick one, there are several signs to look for. Here they are.

THE DISTINCT SWEET PINEAPPLE SMELL

Some fruits when ripe do not give off a smell without cutting them open. But pineapples are different. They are an aromatic tropical fruit. This means they are able to give off that distinct sweet pineapple aroma without the need to slice them. The aroma is stronger when you put your nose closer to the base of the fruit or stem end. If you do not smell the sweet odor, the pineapple is most probably not ripe yet The reason why ripe pineapples can give off a smell because of volatile aromatic compounds.

The volatile aromatic compounds that provide the distinctive sweet aroma of pineapple vary, different on several factors. These include the pineapple variety, storage condition, area it was grown, and more particularly the stage of ripening. Extensive researches have found that pineapple contain at least 280 volatile compounds. These compounds include acids, lactones, hydrocarbons, esters, sulfur-containing compounds and carbonyl compounds.

You might also like: Why Does Pineapple Hurt My Tongue?

One study found that the esters Ethyl hexanoate and methyl hexanoate are the most concentrated in pineapples. These two have a fruity smell, and they have found use as a flavoring agent in food. In fact, Ethyl hexanoate is used to impart apple-like flavor in beers. Methyl hoxanoate is also produced industrially to produce pineapple odor in perfumes.

THE BRIGHT YELLOW PINEAPPLE SKIN

Most young fruits are green, and turn yellow as they mature. Pineapples are no different. Most pineapples in the supermarket are bright yellow with a hint of green. This color indicates that the pineapple is at its peak ripeness. Pineapples start to turn bright yellow from the base. The further the color change has progressed towards the crown, the more ripe the pineapple.

Avoid pineapple that is dark yellow or orange with some brown spots. This indicates that this is already overripe. Brown leaves are also an indication. While overripe pineapples are edible, they are not enjoyable to eat. Overripe pineapples contain high amount of fructose, which some individuals have a hard time digesting.

Some green parts of the skin is fine. But stay away from pineapple that is totally green as this is often underripe.

An unripe pineapple is not sweet or juicy. And there is no way artificial way to ripen it since pineapple is an example of non-climacteric fruit. Non-climacteric fruits are harvested only when ripe because their ripening process stops once harvested or removed from the mother plant.

You might also like: Ethylene And Ripening In Fruits And Vegetables

There are some pineapples that are still green, but are actually ripe already. This is why it is important to look for other indications.

You would also want to visually check the appearance of the leaves as they indicate freshness.

HEAVIER THAN IT LOOKS

After checking the color of the fruit, the next thing that we instantly do is feel it with our bare hand. Does it feel heavier than it looks? They say a fruit that is heavy for its size is already ripe. It is true for most fruits, even for pineapples. A pineapple that looks heavier is sweet, juicy, and more enjoyable. The next time you visit a fruit stand or supermarket for a pineapple, try to pick two, and feel the weight with your hand. Choose the one that is heavier.

It is worthy noting that assessing the ripeness of pineapple using this method alone is not a sure thing. Remember that pineapples come in varieties, shapes, and sizes.

FIRM BUT SQUEEZABLE

This is perhaps that most reliable way of telling the ripeness of a pineapple—the squeeze test. The reason why most consumers do this when they pick a pineapple.

You might also like: Are There Fruits That Continue To Ripen After Harvest?

An unripe pineapple when touched is hard, and you cannot squeeze it at all. Once a pineapple is ripe, it is firm but slightly soft that you can squeeze it.

Just watch for pineapples that are too soft. They may either be overripe or starting to rot. When you press them with a bit of pressure, your finger leaves a little indent. Over ripe pineapples also smell like vinegar or alcohol. This happens because the sugars have started to undergo fermentation.

EASY TO REMOVE LEAVES

The spiky green leaves of a pineapple called fronds are also a good indication to check for ripeness. One pineapple usually has 30 leaves. These green leaves will be deeply attached in an unripe pineapple and challenging to pull without exerting a lot of force.

But this is not the case for a ripe pineapple. The fronds of a ripe pineapple should easily come off when pulled.

The post Post-harvest: How To Pick A Pineapple? appeared first on The Food Untold.

Summer, the hottest season of the year, has arrived again. It’s that time to visit the beach, go on a picnic, or join a sports fest. These activities sure are fun, especially for the kids. However, they can be exhausting as the summer heat raises your body temperature. To cool your body down and reduce fatigue, nothing beats eating summer fruits. They provide instant energy and rehydrate your body. In tropical countries, mangoes, papayas, bananas, watermelons, and pineapples are popular choices. Pineapples are particularly at their best quality during the summer—sweetest and juiciest.

You might also like: Ethylene And Ripening In Fruits And Vegetables

What sets pineapples apart from other fruits is that they give that burning or stinging sensation when you bite on them. But this is completely a normal thing for pineapples, though.

Why does pineapple hurt your tongue anyway?

PINEAPPLES CONTAIN BROMELAIN

All living things have special proteins that we call enzymes. These enzymes are catalysts that speed up various processes in order to sustain life. In humans, their functions include muscle growth,  digestion of food, hormone production, cell repair, and detoxification.  

Enzymes have similar roles in fruits and vegetables—particularly in growth and development. As biological catalysts, they aid in speeding up fruit ripening. A good example of enzyme is polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in fruits such as bananas and papayas. PPO causes cut fruits to turn brown once exposed to oxygen. This is where PPO is a problem as it causes a significant amount of food waste.

Bromelain, an enzyme exclusive to pineapple, hurt us in another way—by hurting our tongue. Bromelain breaks down protein. So if you feel tingling, burning or irritating sensation on your tongue or lips, that is bromelain on duty. This is why some people pineapple a flesh-eating fruit. The good thing is that the soreness does not linger for long as our tongue can rebuild those amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

But this soreness only occurs in fresh pineapples. To enjoy pineapples with less soreness to feel, stay away from the stem and the core. These parts, especially the stem, are where the enzyme is more concentrated.

Cooking is a much better way to reduce the soreness in pineapples though. Processed pineapples like those canned have little enzyme activity. This is because bromelain is heat-sensitive and easily denatured at elevated temperatures.

This 2010 Thai study showed the heat stability of bromelain obtained from smooth Cayenne pineapple, a variety most common in stores in the United States. Enzyme extract was exposed to temperatures of 40-80°C for 0 to 60 min. Incubation at 40°C for 60 minutes showed no loss of bromelain enzyme activity, whereas 83% of activity remained at 50°C. Incubation at 80°C for 8 min almost completely inactivated the enzyme activity.

BROMELAIN AS MEAT TENDERIZER

Bromelain’s ability to break down protein has its benefits though. In the culinary world, bromelain, along with papain, an enzyme present in papaya, is a popular meat tenderizer. So yes, contrary to popular belief, pineapple is not just for imparting flavor to meat. To use fresh pineapples as a meat tenderizer, add it in the marinade and marinade the meat for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the meat. This period is sufficient to break down the tough fibers of the meat. Knowing how long to marinate the meat using pineapple is important. Too long will make the meat into mush and affect the taste and color.

Further reading: How Do Fruit Enzymes Tenderize Meat?

Again, bromelain is a heat-sensitive enzyme so do not use canned pineapples for tenderizing meat. Although stem bromelain is stable at temperatures between 40°C (104°F) to 60°C (140°F), where most enzymes are denatured. Temperatures higher than this range will make the enzyme ineffective at doing its job.

No pineapple available? Bromelain is also commercially available in powdered form. Most bromelain powder in the market is extracted mostly from the stem of pineapple, where it is highly concentrated. Extraction of bromelain is done through centrifugation, ultrafiltration, and lyophilization. This work further explains the process of separation and purification of bromelain from pineapple extract.

Similar to using fresh pineapple, powdered bromelain can be added to marinade or directly sprinkled on raw meat.

The post Why Does Pineapple Hurt My Tongue? appeared first on The Food Untold.