I want all these varieties. A coconut flavored pineapple sounds interesting. I wish I had Brix readings for all these different varieties. I'm ok as long as the pineapple is considered one of the best tasting, but the title of this thread is "the sweetest pineapple". For those of you wondering why I'm so obsessed with the sweetest pineapple, it's because I feel that there is a strong correlation between high Brix levels and quality of fruit. Yes, a plain cup of sugar water is boring and is super sweet but pineapples will naturally have some acidity to balance out the sugars.
If you don't believe what I'm saying, I challenge you to order a Meli Kalima from Frankie's, order it in Summer, and compare it to what you consider to be the best tasting pineapple. You'll get the picture in short order. I appreciate all the input from everyone. Tastes are so subjective and I know most people don't have refractometers but I personally feel that they are absolutely worth the expense as a rare fruit enthusiast. They only cost about $30 for a Chinese model and you can start tracking the quality of fruit as the season progresses.
The same variety of fruit is not always the same quality and Brix level. The first fruits wether it's mangos, loquats, cherimoya, etc generally start out with lower Brix and quality is considered lower. The main season fruit tend to have better sugar acid balance with an increased Brix level of several points. Commercial orchards use Brix readings to determine when to harvest fruit.
In reality, what I'm really trying to do is to create something similar to the Meli Kalima. I have already decided to use the White Jade as one of the parents because of its low acidity, good flavor and lack of spines. I want to minimize the number of traits I'm requesting from forum members suggestions so I'm focusing on Brix as this is easily measured. Quality is highly subjective and people often say variety X is super sweet and excellent tasting but how sweet was it really? Perhaps it was perceived as sweet when in reality it was perceived as sweet because it was low acid.
I am still extremely interested in what forum members consider the best tasting even if it's subjective. There is little information I can find on the internet and beggars can't be choosers. Thanks again for all the suggestion, I hope people don't take it the wrong way. I apologize if I sound argumentative, I just want to explain my reasoning why I'm focusing on one trait(Brix). Breeding is extremely difficult for professionals so imagine a backyard hobby grower wanting to experiment with a cross or two. I have to focus on one trait at a time and hope for a lot of luck along the way.
I've never tasted a Meli Kalima before but my good friend has and it changed him. He started wanting to grow pineapples after he tried that variety but he can no longer eat regular store bought pineapples.
Simon
