pineapple question

Kate wrote on Wed, 09 May 2007 13:09:02 -0400:

KC> Aldi's flyer for this week had it for sale
KC> for $1.49. (Wow! I could buy 2!!!) So I

I wonder if you have grounds for false representation if a
supermarket has a sign saying "ripe pineapples" or "ripe mangos"
when they obviously nothing of the sort!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking?

No, they do not.

James Silverton said:

Kate wrote on Wed, 09 May 2007 13:09:02 -0400:

KC> Aldi's flyer for this week had it for sale
KC> for $1.49. (Wow! I could buy 2!!!) So I

I wonder if you have grounds for false representation if a supermarket
has a sign saying "ripe pineapples" or "ripe mangos" when they obviously
nothing of the sort!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

I wonder if she can take the flyer and get a raincheck from the manager
if so...

--
"All of those faeries and duels and mad queens and so on, and no one
quoted old Billy Shakespeare. Not even once."
- Billy the Werewolf, The Dresden Files

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking? Should I have
picked up a couple of greenies and brought them home
to ripen in a few days? I figured that the reason so
many were actually left in the store was that no one
wanted to buy a green pineapple, even for a mere $1.49
a piece.

Color isn't all that a reliable way to choose a pineapple. They can be green and
ripe at the same time. The test is supposed to be the smell at the stem end. If
it smells nice like a pineapple, it is ripe. I find the aroma strengthens quite
a bit over time, so you don't even have to get your nose up to the stem end.
I'll smell the fragrance when I enter the room where the pineapple is at that
point.

I just bought a pineapple this past weekend and cut it up last evening. It was
"on sale" at $3.99. For years I didn't buy it because I thought it was too hard
to cut up. I had insisted on trying to make pineapple rings like they come in a
can. I finally read the tag instructions and saw a dramatically simpler way to
cut them up into chunks, so I buy them fairly often. I freeze part of them in
plastic containers and then take these on my bike rides. The pineapple gets
thawed out just about the time I'm ready to eat it. Nice and refreshing on a hot
summer day!

--
wff_ng_7 (at) verizon (dot) net

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking? Should I have
picked up a couple of greenies and brought them home
to ripen in a few days? I figured that the reason so
many were actually left in the store was that no one
wanted to buy a green pineapple, even for a mere $1.49
a piece.

They don't ripen, but they do go bad pretty quickly at room temp. I've
found that storing them whole in the refrigerator keeps them for quite
a while.

In your situation, I would have passed as well. You might have been
able to talk them into a raincheck, although with the unripe ones there
it might have been a tough sell.

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

"Kate Connally" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I love fresh pineapple but only buy it when
it's on sale cause it's kind of expensive.

Aldi's flyer for this week had it for sale
for $1.49. (Wow! I could buy 2!!!) So I
stopped by after work yesterday and half expected
them to be all gone as usually the sale starts
on Sun and people [censored] up all the good stuff
at the beginning of the week. If you snooze you
lose.) But I was surprised to find a lot of them
left. But they were all very, very unripe.

I complained about it as I was checking out with
other purchases - I did not take the pineapple -
and one of the employees who heard me said you
should never buy a pineapple that's too ripe as
it will not last very long. She said she lived
in Hawaii for a time and they always bought them
like that. Well, the assumption is that a green
pineapple will continue to ripen after it is picked.
I have my doubts.

I know there are many fruits that are said to continue
to ripen after picking. I know bananas do, but they
are the only fruit I've ever had that tastes as good
when post-picking ripened as it does before - but then
maybe I've never had a "tree" ripened banana as I'm
sure the ones we get in the States are always picked
green in order to ship them. Now peaches I have had
both tree-ripened and post-picking ripened and the
tree-ripened ones are infinitely tastier.

So, does pineapple ripen after picking? Should I have
picked up a couple of greenies and brought them home
to ripen in a few days? I figured that the reason so
many were actually left in the store was that no one
wanted to buy a green pineapple, even for a mere $1.49
a piece.

And if it does ripen after picking how does the flavor
compare to already ripened? (Now I'm thinking that none
of the pineapples we get are picked ripe since they, too,
along with bananas have to be shipped quite a way.)

Kate
--

Well, Kate, the trick is that a green pineapple may well be perfectly ripe. Color is
not an indicator or ripeness for pineapple; although perfectly ripe ones are rarely
*completely* green, they can retain alot of green when ripe. That being said, look
for an orange-y gold color at the base or stem end, and how far that color extends up
the pineapple. The best ones will extend 2/3 or so.

The best way to check for ripeness is smell. Smell the stem (bottom) end. It should
smell tropical and fruity and luscious. It should also be plump, with no withered,
puckered looking spots, and no mold. If the scent is too strong, or vinegar-y, then
it is likely to be over-ripe and deteriorating. There should be a slight yield, but
no soft spots.

Also, to answer your other question, pineapples do NOT ripen once picked. They
soften, they break down, but they do not get any riper than they are when picked. You
can get better pineapple the closer you live to the source. For example, the
pineapple I can get here in So Cal is better (riper) than say, the east coast. If
you're going to have it more than a day, store it by standing it upside down. That
keeps the bottom from fermenting, and causing rapid deteriorization of the flesh.

One other thing worth mentioning...depending on how you like your pineapple to taste,
choose fruits with more or less scales for strength of flavor. For example, if you
like a strong, tropical flavor, that is more acidic, then choose a pineapple with
more tightly packed scales (the individual "cells" on the skin). For a milder, less
acidic, sweeter fruit, choose one with fewer and larger scales.

Hawaiian pineapples are in peak season right now.

Hope this helps,

kimberly

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking?

In my experience they do not. They go from green to rotten.
If you watch pineapple being harvested, men walk down the rows
and hack the ripe ones off the plants, leaving the unripe and
small ones behind for the next picking.

They may have devised a mechanical picker that can't tell the
difference and that may be why there are green ones on the market.

OTOH, when we were in Jamaica years ago, a tour of a banana plantation
supplied the information that bananas don't ripen on the plant but must
be picked to begin the process of ripening. I have no idea whether
that's true or not.

gloria p

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking?

<PMS halucination snipped>

So, NO!

C'mon, Kate, you're not a newbie here... stop faking that you don't
know that pineapple doesn't ripen after picking... you're trolling...
DEFINITELY "NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT, NO OTHER EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER"
_TROLLING_ ! ! !

Kate, get your Synthroid dose reassessed.

Sheldon

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

C'mon, Kate, you're not a newbie here... stop faking that you don't
know that pineapple doesn't ripen after picking... you're trolling...

....and you're not?

W...anchor.

Graeme

James Silverton said:

Kate  wrote:

KC> Aldi's flyer for this week had it for sale
 KC> for $1.49.  (Wow!  I could buy 2!!!)  So I

I wonder if you have grounds for false representation if a
supermarket has a sign saying "ripe pineapples".

Nowhere does Kate mention *ripe*... that's why you're not a lawyer.

Anyway it's perfectly okay for a store to advertise ripe pineapple, or
any other fruit
as ripe, because ripeness is subjective.

As long as the store didn't advertise pineapple as "field ripened"
they are perfectly within their legal rights. There are no fresh
field ripened pineapple available within 49 of the fifty states, the
only field ripened pineapple available in those forty nine states is
canned... fresh field ripened pineapple doesn't ship well, it must be
eaten within 24 hours or it's compost.

Sheldon

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking?

Well you have been told by many the answer is categorically no. But
what do you mean by ripe? My understanding is that after picking a
pineapple will:

- not get sweeter,
- not get fruitier,
- get less acid,
- change colour and
- get softer.

Now do the last 3 changes accord with your definition of "ripe" or
some part of ripe? Some people would say these qualities are aspects
of ripeness of fruit.

Since we don't eat the skin the colour seems irrelevant to me and
since firm and soft pineapples are both able to be chewed raw by
normal human teeth the softening is not important either.

However the acid level sure is important. One because a highly acid
pineapple may feel very uncomfortable in the mouth and two because as
the acid reduces the fruit SEEMS sweeter. This change can make the
fruit more attractive (up to a point) if you allow it to take place
after picking. Whether it is technically "ripening" or not does not
seem important to me.

David

wff_ng_7 said:

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking? Should I have
picked up a couple of greenies and brought them home
to ripen in a few days? I figured that the reason so
many were actually left in the store was that no one
wanted to buy a green pineapple, even for a mere $1.49
a piece.

Color isn't all that a reliable way to choose a pineapple. They can be
green and ripe at the same time. The test is supposed to be the smell at
the stem end. If it smells nice like a pineapple, it is ripe. I find the
aroma strengthens quite a bit over time, so you don't even have to get
your nose up to the stem end. I'll smell the fragrance when I enter the
room where the pineapple is at that point.

I've heard that about cantaloupe, too. The smell. And someone
told me once that you should twist the topknow on the pineapple
and if it moves easily it's ripe. I didn't actually sniff the
butt end of any of these pineapples, but I didn't notice any
pineapple aroma in or around the crate. (But I don't have
a lot of faith in my nose. It's not as sensitive a some
people's noses. So, not sure I would really be able to tell
unless it were really strong, like overripe.)

Also, I felt them and they were harder than usual. And, yes
there's usually some green but more yellow on the ones I've
bought in the past. These were hard and very, very green,
virtually no yellow. I'm sure they were not ripe.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]

Nexis said:

"Kate Connally" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I love fresh pineapple but only buy it when
it's on sale cause it's kind of expensive.

Aldi's flyer for this week had it for sale
for $1.49. (Wow! I could buy 2!!!) So I
stopped by after work yesterday and half expected
them to be all gone as usually the sale starts
on Sun and people [censored] up all the good stuff
at the beginning of the week. If you snooze you
lose.) But I was surprised to find a lot of them
left. But they were all very, very unripe.

I complained about it as I was checking out with
other purchases - I did not take the pineapple -
and one of the employees who heard me said you
should never buy a pineapple that's too ripe as
it will not last very long. She said she lived
in Hawaii for a time and they always bought them
like that. Well, the assumption is that a green
pineapple will continue to ripen after it is picked.
I have my doubts.

I know there are many fruits that are said to continue
to ripen after picking. I know bananas do, but they
are the only fruit I've ever had that tastes as good
when post-picking ripened as it does before - but then
maybe I've never had a "tree" ripened banana as I'm
sure the ones we get in the States are always picked
green in order to ship them. Now peaches I have had
both tree-ripened and post-picking ripened and the
tree-ripened ones are infinitely tastier.

So, does pineapple ripen after picking? Should I have
picked up a couple of greenies and brought them home
to ripen in a few days? I figured that the reason so
many were actually left in the store was that no one
wanted to buy a green pineapple, even for a mere $1.49
a piece.

And if it does ripen after picking how does the flavor
compare to already ripened? (Now I'm thinking that none
of the pineapples we get are picked ripe since they, too,
along with bananas have to be shipped quite a way.)

Kate
--

Well, Kate, the trick is that a green pineapple may well be perfectly
ripe. Color is not an indicator or ripeness for pineapple; although
perfectly ripe ones are rarely *completely* green, they can retain alot
of green when ripe. That being said, look for an orange-y gold color at
the base or stem end, and how far that color extends up the pineapple.
The best ones will extend 2/3 or so.

The best way to check for ripeness is smell. Smell the stem (bottom)
end. It should smell tropical and fruity and luscious. It should also be
plump, with no withered, puckered looking spots, and no mold. If the
scent is too strong, or vinegar-y, then it is likely to be over-ripe and
deteriorating. There should be a slight yield, but no soft spots.

Also, to answer your other question, pineapples do NOT ripen once
picked. They soften, they break down, but they do not get any riper than
they are when picked. You can get better pineapple the closer you live
to the source. For example, the pineapple I can get here in So Cal is
better (riper) than say, the east coast. If you're going to have it more
than a day, store it by standing it upside down. That keeps the bottom
from fermenting, and causing rapid deteriorization of the flesh.

One other thing worth mentioning...depending on how you like your
pineapple to taste, choose fruits with more or less scales for strength
of flavor. For example, if you like a strong, tropical flavor, that is
more acidic, then choose a pineapple with more tightly packed scales
(the individual "cells" on the skin). For a milder, less acidic, sweeter
fruit, choose one with fewer and larger scales.

Hawaiian pineapples are in peak season right now.

Hope this helps,

kimberly

Thanks for all the advice.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Kate Connally said:

So, does pineapple ripen after picking?

Well you have been told by many the answer is categorically no. But
what do you mean by ripe? My understanding is that after picking a
pineapple will:

- not get sweeter,
- not get fruitier,
- get less acid,
- change colour and
- get softer.

Now do the last 3 changes accord with your definition of "ripe" or
some part of ripe? Some people would say these qualities are aspects
of ripeness of fruit.

Well, as far as pineapple goes, I want it to be juicy,
sweet, and pineappley tasting, and not too acidic. The
color doesn't matter, I guess, except that I would be
put off by any color but yellow (say green). I do like
a richer shade of yellow, but of course flavor and texture
are them most important. This is based on all the fresh
juicy delicious pineapples I've eaten over the years vs.
the underripe, sour (not sweet), hard one or two I've
occasionally been unlucky enough to bring home by
accident.

Quoted message said:

Since we don't eat the skin the colour seems irrelevant to me

Yes, but skin color is often indicative of ripeness.
If there were no correlation at all then it wouldn't
matter, but in my experience to date there seems to
be a correlation.

Quoted message said:

and
since firm and soft pineapples are both able to be chewed raw by
normal human teeth the softening is not important either.

Well, it depends on what you mean by firm (hard? or just firm?)
or soft (just soft? or disintegrating?) and just because human
teeth are able to chew it doesn't mean it doesn't make any
difference. I have had pineapple that was very firm in
texture (i.e. hard) and even though I *could* chew it it
wasn't pleasant. And also the taste associated with this
hard texture was too [censored] and not sweet enough and not juicy
enough. And if it's overly soft (i.e. mushy) that's not a
pleasant sensation either and if it's that soft it's also
probably starting to ferment and will taste sour.

Quoted message said:

However the acid level sure is important. One because a highly acid
pineapple may feel very uncomfortable in the mouth and two because as
the acid reduces the fruit SEEMS sweeter. This change can make the
fruit more attractive (up to a point) if you allow it to take place
after picking. Whether it is technically "ripening" or not does not
seem important to me.

Well, I think I would call that ripening. To me ripening
is getting to the perfect stage for maximum eating enjoyment.
I don't see how you could call it "ripe" if it's still very
acidic and not very sweet. When I say ripe, I mean ripe in
the context of human consumption, not ripe in the, perhaps,
botanical sense of being ready to drop off the plant and
procreate or whatever the hell pineapples do.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]

Kate wrote on Thu, 10 May 2007 15:41:34 -0400:

??>> On May 10, 3:09 am, Kate Connally <[email hidden]>
wrote:
??>> ??>>

Besides color and a pleasant aroma, another traditional test is
to pull gently on one of the upper leaves. It should detach
easily if the fruit is ripe.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

Nexis said:

You
can get better pineapple the closer you live to the source. For example, the
pineapple I can get here in So Cal is better (riper) than say, the east coast.

That's just not true. Pineapple is grown all around the world, So Cal
is no closer to pineapple plantations than NY. In fact some pineapple
is grown in Florida, and a lot is grown in Puerto Rico. But fully
field ripened pineapple is simply not shipped, except in cans. The
biggest grower of pineapple is Thailand.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pineapple.html

Sheldon

"Sheldon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nexis said:

You
can get better pineapple the closer you live to the source. For example, the
pineapple I can get here in So Cal is better (riper) than say, the east coast.

That's just not true. Pineapple is grown all around the world, So Cal
is no closer to pineapple plantations than NY. In fact some pineapple
is grown in Florida, and a lot is grown in Puerto Rico. But fully
field ripened pineapple is simply not shipped, except in cans. The
biggest grower of pineapple is Thailand.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pineapple.html

Sheldon

Eh, I forgot to say Hawaiian, for that example. Same thing applies, however...the
closer you are, the better it is.

kimberly

James Silverton said:

Kate wrote on Thu, 10 May 2007 15:41:34 -0400:

??>> On May 10, 3:09 am, Kate Connally <[email hidden]> wrote:
??>> ??>>

Besides color and a pleasant aroma, another traditional test is to pull
gently on one of the upper leaves. It should detach easily if the fruit
is ripe.

Actually my aunt just told me that. I'll give it a try.

Thanks,

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
[email hidden]