Throughout history, no other fruit, except maybe the mango, has such a thoroughly exotic name as the pineapple. Contrary to popular belief, the pineapple is not a native of Hawaii, but was the food of hardy and warrior like Carib Indians, living in the region that still bears their name. It was loved and revered by their culture, both as a food and a symbol of hospitality.

Europeans first got a taste of the pineapple when in 1493 Christopher Columbus landed on the volcanic Caribbean island of Guadaloupe. Although, this is how the ?anana? or ?excellent fruit? was introduced to Europeans, the pineapple arrived on the Caribbean Islands when maritime tribes explored, raided and traded across a vast expanse of tropical oceans, seas and river systems, bringing this fruit back from inland areas of what is now Brazil and Paraguay. The pineapple became an uncommon and coveted commodity, from the banquet halls of King Charles II to the tables of Colonial America.

Ananas comosusis: the botanical name of the fruit, was so named due to its resemblance to a pinecone. The pineapple is technically not a single fruit, but a sorosis. The fruit of an hundred or more separate flowers grow on the plant spike. As they grow they swell with juice and pulp expanding to become the fruit. Pineapples are the fruit of a bromeliad, rising from the center on a single spike surrounded by sword like leaves. The pineapple plant is the only bromeliad to produce edible fruit.

Whether it was the Carib Indians or a sailor posting a pineapple at the entrance to let visitors know they were welcome, or the dining tables of well to do homes, the pineapple now has the worldwide honor of being the symbol of hospitality.