Sweetest pineapple?

[Mark in Texas]

Just bought (and twisted off the top) THE richest, sweetest smelling pineapple I've ever gotten from a store.  Much better than Hawaiian.  From Veracruz, Mexico, it's the Chula brand.  Have a office headquarter in California and McAllen, TX.  Gold fruit, top to bottom.  Will check the brix.

[Samu]

As an aside, there's prep work. Easiest and most efficient start for me is using a corer.  If the pineapple is really big and long like this one you can attack it from both ends.  After coring slicing down the sides with a sharp chef's knife wastes very little meat compared to the fancy smancy ones that do spirals.   Those spiral cutting wheels are a certain size, usually 3.5" and one size doesn't fit all.

I learned from watching my mom cut pineapples this way: with regular kitchen knife, the old fashion way, spiral, for minimum waste. It just takes a little longer, so you decide which is more valuable to you, extra minutes spent for extra meat saved...

Like this quick 1 minute Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNYS0uF5iN0

[ChristineMessner]

I think the sugar loaf pineapples are very sweet. But it's not because of high brix reading but because they have a lot less acidity. So there are other factors to perceived sweetness besides brix readings.

I have repeatedly stated this with everyone who comments on the sweetest mango based on brix.  Each individual's taste buds can also have a bearing on perceived sweetness.

Other issue I have one people rating quality based on what a refractometer says...taste of the actual fruit is far more important than a number on a meter... 

Uhmm i dont think so..

[Mark in Texas]

Like this quick 1 minute Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNYS0uF5iN0

Seems like quite a bit of waste. Why did he cut out the V sections and what would you do with those oddball size little chunks other than add to a fruit salad?  Love the cool music though!

The spiral cutter I was referring to is like this one. https://www.amazon.com/Cuisine-Ninja-Pineapple-Slicer-Kitchen/dp/B01F65CBXW/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1491998644&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=pineapple+corer&psc=1

What's limiting is the fixed wheel diameter, that was my point.  With a big pineapple you lose some meat left next to the peel.  With a small pineapple you risk cutting into the tough peel.  I core and with a chef's knife cut down the sides.  Takes about a minute.  Then I  can cut thick slices to grill or rings.

Mark

[bsbullie]

I think the sugar loaf pineapples are very sweet. But it's not because of high brix reading but because they have a lot less acidity. So there are other factors to perceived sweetness besides brix readings.

I have repeatedly stated this with everyone who comments on the sweetest mango based on brix.  Each individual's taste buds can also have a bearing on perceived sweetness.

Other issue I have one people rating quality based on what a refractometer says...taste of the actual fruit is far more important than a number on a meter... 

Uhmm i dont think so..

Ummmm, well I do.....

[gnappi]

More "food for thought" don't let the pineapple core and peel go to waste, boil them and they make a GREAT tea, then bury the waste in a hole in your garden.

[fyliu]

More "food for thought" don't let the pineapple core and peel go to waste, boil them and they make a GREAT tea, then bury the waste in a hole in your garden.

Works only if it's fresh enough. Supermarket fruits have mold on the bottom. Maybe it depends on where you live. Most pineapples here are sold green with just a little bit of yellow edges, so I get the more yellow but moldy ones if I really wanted to buy.

[simon_grow]

Just bought (and twisted off the top) THE richest, sweetest smelling pineapple I've ever gotten from a store.  Much better than Hawaiian.  From Veracruz, Mexico, it's the Chula brand.  Have a office headquarter in California and McAllen, TX.  Gold fruit, top to bottom.  Will check the brix.

Mark, did you get a Brix reading? I've seen those Chula Pineapples here.

Simon

[Mark in Texas]

Just bought (and twisted off the top) THE richest, sweetest smelling pineapple I've ever gotten from a store.  Much better than Hawaiian.  From Veracruz, Mexico, it's the Chula brand.  Have a office headquarter in California and McAllen, TX.  Gold fruit, top to bottom.  Will check the brix.

Mark, did you get a Brix reading? I've seen those Chula Pineapples here.

Simon

Not yet.  Will cut it today and report back.  Will take some pix too.

Whether it's a cantaloupe, tomato, or mango I use my sense of smell to determine ripeness.  You can smell this thing walking by the counter where it sits!   

Fyliu, IMO you need to find another grocer.  I've never had mold on any pineapple and we buy a lot.

[Mark in Texas]

Wow, are looks deceiving!    In spite of it being gold and smelling up the kitchen sitting there on the counter, one brix reading came in at 11.75*, another 13*. The (incredible) RGV (Rio Grande Valley) grapefruit I'm eating now has a brix of 11.0* and its probably been stored in a warehouse for 4 months ! Whatever, planted the twistee. That makes 9 pineapple plants, 4 are clones.

[Mike T]

At the markets here there is usually 6 or 7 varieties on offer with prices about us$1.50 to $3 and most are low acid. The mareeba golds are sometimes huge and I could only guess at how many pounds.It makes them one of the cheapest fruits.Keitt and brooks mangos are currently us$1.50 to $2 per kg with some huge keitts.They are the cheapest mangoes with sam ru du currently double that price.It is the 7th sytraight month of bulk mango availability.Pineapples by contrast in my neck of the woods are available in bulk every month and taste best at the warmest time of the year.I think Oscar is correct in that brix is not the best measure of apparent sweetness and a comparison of sugar to acid may be more informative.

[simon_grow]

Based on Oscars recommendations, I ordered some White Sugarloaf Pineapple plants and also some White Sugarloaf Pineapple fruit from Kuai. The fruit are on backorder so I probably won't receive them for several weeks but I'll definitely post pictures along with a taste description and Brix readings once I get them in.

I received my White Sugarloaf plants today and they look healthy and appear to be tissue cultured.

I've been looking up threads and videos on White Jade and White Sugarloaf for about the last month and I was starting to wonder if they were the same? I've seen some YouTube videos on Kona Sugarloaf plants and they seem to get that reddish tan streak down the middle of the blade like my White Jades but these White Sugarloaf plants I just received have very small serrations on the leaves that I didn't notice on the White Jades. I wonder what the offspring of a White Jade crossed with a White Sugarloaf would taste like?

Here are some pictures of my new arrivals.

[simon_grow]

I have problems uploading pictures I'll try again later.

Simon

[fruitlovers]

Peak season here for white sugarloaf is June-July. Out of that summer time frame they would have to use ethylene to force fruiting.
Simon, when you do your brix test can you also do a comparison pH reading? Would be good to know how much lower the acid content really is on the white sugarloaf?

[simon_grow]

Hey Oscar, my pH probe dried up so I need to replace it. If I get it replaced by the time I receive the fruit I'll definitely take a pH reading.

Simon

[Mark in Texas]

I think Oscar is correct in that brix is not the best measure of apparent sweetness and a comparison of sugar to acid may be more informative.

That's the case for me, that fruit I showed had no taste, it was bland with low sugar too.  I'm wondering if they picked it super green then colored it up with ethylene?  Warehouses dosing their pineapples with ethylene like they do tomatoes? 

[Mark in Texas]

I've been looking up threads and videos on White Jade and White Sugarloaf for about the last month and I was starting to wonder if they were the same? I've seen some YouTube videos on Kona Sugarloaf plants and they seem to get that reddish tan streak down the middle of the blade like my White Jades

Makes me feel better about the White Jade as the firm I ordered from, Wellsprings Gardens, sent me banana plants that a Texas banana grower says are not what I ordered, they are an ornamental.

[Galka]

 Here's my crazy White Jade. 

[simon_grow]

Here's a picture of the White Sugarloaf plants.

Mark, Wellspring garden is where I ordered these from. I'll make a note to keep these seperate from the actual White Sugarloaf fruit tops when I plant them.




Simon

[fyliu]

Many internet sources said that white jade is a thornless white sugarloaf. I think Asaffron thought the same thing but he didn't like thorns so he went with the white jade.

[gnappi]

I have two pineapples labeled "white Jade" and they're lime green with pink coloration up the middle of the inside of leaf.

They look nothing like the one Galka posted which is dark green.

Mine are like this:

https://www.agristarts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/479/typeID/99/index.htm

[Galka]

It's because it was in a shade. I have last year pictures with red color on it's leaves.

That's what I could find for now...with a fruit.

[simon_grow]

Either way, I've got them in my yard now. If White Jade is a thornless Sugarloaf, it still might be worth crossing them and selecting a thornless variety that tastes good. I got pricked from the HD plant which is pretty much thornless but it still hurts. I can see why the thornless White Jade is sold by Adam.

Simon

[simon_grow]

The Vons by my house got in a new shipment of their cocktail pineapples. The brand is Zululand and it is grown in South Africa. The smell of this fruit is amazing, as with most pineapples and I've noticed that these fruit are almost always sold completely Yellow as you see in the picture below. The leaf blades are serrated and relatively sharp for their size, I can imagine how sharp the spines from the parent plant can be. This feature may be a good deterrent for animals.

The issue with this fruit is its extremely small. After removing the peel, I was left with flesh about the size of an orange. The core is completely edible and I ate the entire thing. This fruit had a Brix reading of 16% in one sample and just a little over 17% in the other sample. This fruit has more acidity than the Tropical Gold Pineapple that I sampled above and it was good eating quality. Somebody that likes a little more Tart but also great sweetness may like this fruit. I'm going to plant this top just for fun. This fruit had a great slightly crunchy texture to it which I really enjoyed.

Simon

[Mark in Texas]

I have two pineapples labeled "white Jade" and they're lime green with pink coloration up the middle of the inside of leaf.

They look nothing like the one Galka posted which is dark green.

Mine are like this:

https://www.agristarts.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/plants.plantDetail/plant_id/479/typeID/99/index.htm

Nice fruits Simon.  My leaves have rose coloring in the green.  Funny comment in your link --> 'White Jade' will produce a tasty reward far better than anything found in the grocery store for those who plant them.  Hell, ANY homegrown pineapple will be much better than store bought.  I rate my homegrown much better than even the fresh ones at Hawaiian fruit stands.

Wellsprings Gardens