Plant-ripened pineapple!

We harvested the first (and only) pineapple last weekend. It had ripened on the plant while we were away for a short holiday – stubbornly so, I may add, because we had “requested” that it not ripen while we were away, and caused a little alarm when we received word four days prior to our return that it was turning yellow. This required daily photo updates, from which we determined that it was alright to remain on the plant until we got back to do the honours ourselves.

The pineapple sucker was more visible after the fruit was harvested.

One main concern for me was that I noticed a sucker right next to the fruit that I was anxious not to harm, because it meant an additional way of propagating the plant apart from growing from the crown.

On the day we got back, the fruit was giving off a very distinct over-ripe pineapple smell, and I grew alarmed when I noticed lots of those little sugar-loving ants running around the base of the fruit. We harvested it with some ceremony and weighed it – 3kg! With the crown. It was then skinned and the tasting commenced.

Cross-section of our pineapple.

Oh my… was it sweet! Caramelly and without the usual sharpness of pineapple that we buy here. The flesh had started turning brown, though, making me worried that it was spoiled, but it wasn’t. It was gorgeous and delicious – and barely lasted two days. Not bad for a family that usually doesn’t eat pineapple!

I’m leaving the sucker on the plant in the hopes that it will grow a new fruit faster. The crown is being prepared to be planted. I think we’ll keep growing pineapples…

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