International Pineapple Day 27th June

 

International  Pineapple Day 27^th June

 

This has been used as medicine in Ayurveda for centuries. Especially, the sheath or the fibrous membrane ( known as Locular septa) that holds the multiple seeds. 

 

Basic science is the maximum nutrition is packed in seeds and then the skin. Here in this fruit the actual skin is the one that holds the seeds. 

 

Pineapple* [ How it got its name]

 

With the advantage of internet information sharing everyone has access to loads of information. In food taboos, trends, availability, different cuisines, organic aspects, bio-chemical components, ingredients , health benefits etc., can all be analysed and verified through both etic and emic studies.

 

But wading through a whole heap of information can confuse more than clarify, irrespective of the meta terminologies and AI enabled filters that one may use.

 

However, often in life , nostalgia guides us from certain conventional wisdom to navigate through the massive transformation and make a balanced choice with relevant details.

 

Nostalgia led me to Resurgence [Wonderful monthly magazine from UK that was started by an Indian Satish Kumar -the founding editor, which ensured every issue had articles on topics like Onion, Garlic –starting from giving details of their etymology to tracing their history, indicating their biochemical properties, their nutritional value to their prevailing utility and benefits to human health. I never missed a single issue of that for almost 20 years in the 80s and 90s.[ Thanks to The British Council Library at Madras [ Chennai now].  Of Course, even that is reached online .

 

Herein comes an interesting article on Pineapple among other fruits and vegetables .

 

https://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article4849-without-them-were-dead.html

 

https://greenmedinfo.com/blog/research-pineapple-enzyme-kills-cancer-without-killing-you

[ https://tv.greenmedinfo.com/eatomology-uncut-medicinally-potent-pineapple/]

 

https://tv.greenmedinfo.com/green-detox-weight-loss-wonder-juice/

 

 

 

Some more interesting links

 

https://www.frostmagazine.com/2018/07/jamaica-cove-black-pineapple-rum-by-milly-adams/

 

https://newschoolbeer.com/nsb/2018/08/pineapple-became-hottest-fruit-beer-cider-trend-year.html

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2711054/

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878450X23000240

 

https://nhb.gov.in/report_files/pineapple/PINEAPPLE.htm

 

*

In fact, the Portuguese explorers who initially ventured in search of food later on ( the French and British colonisers looted those lands discovered by Portuguese - incidentally the people who started slave trade).

 

They ( the Portuguese) left traces of wherever they went and whatever they saw be it a natural feature like a river with something unique, a culture which was different, a fruit or vegetation that was new through their vocabulary predominantly with Latin etymology.

 

For example, the country CAMEROUN ( in French) or Cameroon (in English) was identified with its popular big Wouri river which had large quantity of Shrimps. He named the place as 'Rio Dos Camaros' ( Portuguese meaning river of Shrimps from Latin origin ' camarus- shrimp/crawfish).

 

They did not have time to get into the details. They struck on to a common term and tried to weave new words around it. 

 

Thus, the only fruit known and popular fruit in the West was apple ( which was for long even used as a generic name for fruit).

 

The word "apple, formerly spelled 'æppel: in Old English, is derived from the Proto-Germanic root ap(a)laz, which could also mean fruit in general. This is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ab(e)l-, but the precise original meaning and the relationship between both words is uncertain".

 

That's why peach was known as Persian apple, Papaya as custard apple, even potato as earth apple ( pomme de terre). Pomegranade was called ' pomem granatum' ' multiple apples or apple with multiple seed. That's why pineapple is called 'ananas' in many languages ( from TUPI word -nanas meaning excellent fruit) but because as it was pine shaped, they called it as pineapple in English.