Guarani Indian word for the fruit; pineapple from the Spanish piña due to its resemblance to the similarly composite pinecone.) The plant had already spread to the Caribbean before Columbus saw it there in 1493, and modern breeding efforts began shortly thereafter in French and Dutch glasshouses Pineapples consist of spirals of separate seedless fruitlets, between 100 and 200 of which fuse together and become joined to a central core During the fusing process, bacteria and yeasts become incorporated in the interior and may later cause hidden spoilage The fruit doesn’t store starch, is not a climacteric fruit, and will not sweeten or improve in flavor once picked, though it will soften Fully ripe pineapples don’t ship well, so exported pineapples are harvested early, with as little as half the sugar content that they’re capable of developing, and a fraction of the aroma Brown or black regions in the interior are caused by chilling injury during shipment or storage; translucent areas seem to be caused by growing conditions that load the fruit cell walls with sugars The quality of pineapples from the subtropics is less reliable than that of fruit from near the equator, where seasonal and climatic variation is minimal Pineapple Flavor Pineapples are remarkable for the intensity of their flavor, the experience of which the 19th-century English writer Charles Lamb described as “almost too transcendent…a pleasure bordering on pain, from the fierceness and insanity of her relish.” At their best they are both very sweet and quite tart (from citric acid), and with a rich aroma provided by a complex mixture of fruity esters, pungent sulfur compounds, essences of vanilla and clove (vanillin, eugenol), and several oxygen-containing carbon rings with caramel and sherry overtones A given pineapple has many different flavor zones The fruitlets near the ... essences of vanilla and clove (vanillin, eugenol), and several oxygen-containing carbon rings with caramel and sherry overtones A given pineapple has many different flavor zones The fruitlets near the. .. bordering on pain, from the fierceness and insanity of her relish.” At their best they are both very sweet and quite tart (from citric acid), and with a rich aroma provided by a complex mixture of fruity... be caused by growing conditions that load the fruit cell walls with sugars The quality of pineapples from the subtropics is less reliable than that of fruit from near the equator, where seasonal and climatic variation is minimal