Pineapple is a very good healthy fruit. It can be eaten directly as a fruit and can be used as an ingredient to cook various delicacies. However, when buying pineapples, we often buy unsatisfactory pineapples. So what should we do? How to choose pineapple? Let me introduce to you the method of choosing pineapple. I hope it can help you~
Introduction to pineapple
Pineapple, also called pineapple, is a very Good healthy fruit. Pineapple has beautiful fruit shape, juicy and sweet taste, and a special fragrance. It is deeply loved by people and is known as the "Queen of Fruits".
Pineapple is also rich in nutrients, such as sugar, protein, vitamin C, etc., which has the functions of clearing away heat and relieving summer heat, producing body fluids and quenching thirst, and promoting urination. In addition, pineapple also contains a substance called "pineapple prionase", which can break down protein. After eating meat or greasy food, eating some pineapple is very good for the body. "Broapple prionase" can also dissolve fibrin and blood clots blocked in tissues, improve local blood circulation, and eliminate inflammation and edema.
But at the same time, choosing pineapples that are fleshy and sweet also troubles many people. How should they choose pineapples?
Method of choosing pineapples 1. Look at the appearance of the fruit.
The fruits of high-quality pineapples are cylindrical or oval with slightly pointed ends, uniform and moderate in size, correct in shape and with a small number of buds. The skin of a well-ripened pineapple is light yellow or bright yellow, with slightly greenish tips at both ends, and the crown buds on the top are greenish-brown; while the skin of raw pineapples is iron-green or slightly brown. If the top of the pineapple fruit is full, the peel turns yellow, and the pulp becomes soft and orange, it means it has reached nine ripeness. This kind of pineapple has a lot of juice, high sugar content, rich fragrance, and a very good taste. If it is not to be eaten immediately, it is best to choose varieties that are still hard, light yellow in color with green luster, and about seven to eight years old.
Look at the appearance color. The golden ones are more mature than the green ones, and the taste will be sweeter.
The second way to choose pineapples is to look at the pulp structure.
After cutting the pineapple, if the fruit has shallow and small eyes, the inside is light yellow, the flesh is thick and the core is small, it is a high-quality product; otherwise, the fruit has deep and many holes, and there are gaps in the internal tissue. Larger, thin flesh and thick core are inferior pineapples. In addition, the flesh of unripe pineapples is crisp, hard and white.
Method 3 for choosing pineapples: Look at the hardness of the fruit.
When selecting pineapple, you can press it gently with your hands. If you find that the pineapple is hard and inelastic, it is a raw pineapple. Pineapples that are firm and soft are high-quality pineapples that are ripe. In addition, those that are too sunken or even sunken are overripe pineapples. In addition, if you find that the selected pineapple (or the pineapple that has been left for a period of time) has juice overflowing, it means that the fruit has deteriorated and people can no longer eat it.
Method 4 of selecting pineapples: Smell with your nose.
You can use your nose to smell the pineapple to see if the aroma is strong, so you can also judge whether the pineapple you picked is ripe. Generally, you can smell a slight aroma on the skin of a well-ripened pineapple, while the flesh is fragrant. The fragrant pineapple is an overripe fruit that cannot be stored for long and is easily perishable. In addition, unscented pineapples may be picked raw, contain obviously insufficient sugar, and taste tasteless. Therefore, it is better to choose pineapples that can smell a little bit of fragrance.
There are three super simple tips:
If you want to choose delicious and sweet pineapples, you must first look for those short and thick pineapples, because these "short and fat ones" "The flesh is firm and meaty, and is more delicious than the long and thin fruit;
Then it depends on the size. The larger ones are more delicious than the smaller ones, because the larger ones are more mature and can also be said to be "well-developed." And the taste is relatively sweet;
Finally, the length of the pineapple leaves is important. Many people only pay attention to the pineapple itself when choosing a pineapple, and ignore the leaves. In fact, you can tell the origin of pineapples from the leaves. Pineapples from Hainan have longer leaves, while those from Guangxi have shorter leaves. If they are both mature pineapples, the ones from Hainan are more delicious.
Tips on washing pineapples:
When eating pineapples, you should first peel the pineapple and cut it into slices, then soak it in light salt water for 30 minutes, and then use cold boiled water Soak and wait until the salty taste is removed before eating. This can remove the irritating effect of bromelain on the tender epidermis of our oral mucosa and lips.
Morphological characteristics
Stems are short. There are many leaves, arranged in a rosette, sword-shaped, 40-90 cm long, 4-7 cm wide, apex acuminate, entire edge or sharp teeth, ventral green, back pink-green, edges and apex often brownish-red, born in The leaves at the top of the inflorescence become smaller and often red.
The inflorescence is drawn out from the leaves, shaped like a pine cone, 6-8 cm long, and enlarged during fruiting; the base of the bracts is green, the upper part is light red, triangular-ovate; the sepals are broadly ovate. , fleshy, reddish at the top, about 1 cm long; petals are oblong, pointed at the end, about 2 cm long, purple-red in the upper part and white in the lower part.
The Juhua fruit is fleshy and more than 15 cm long. The flowering period is from summer to winter.
Growth environment
Pineapple plantation pineapple has its own special growth habits. Most pineapples have rosette-shaped leaves.
The base of the leaf cluster forms a leaf tube that can store water. The water required for the growth and development of this type of pineapple is not stored in the mesophyll, but in the naturally formed grooves at the central growth point of the clustered leaves (i.e. the unique rosette-shaped leaf tube). In addition to regular watering during the growing season, In addition to keeping the pot soil moist, you must also frequently water the leaf tubes so that sufficient water is stored in the leaf tubes so that they can grow vigorously. This is a special habit of pineapples.
Another special habit of most ornamental pineapples is that they only bloom once in their life. After flowering, the mother plant will die after living for a while. At this time, one to several pineapples will sprout at the base of the stem or roots of the mother plant. Tiller (niè) buds, these tiller buds are good materials for propagating new plants.
Temperature
Pineapple is native to tropical high-temperature and arid areas of South America. It likes warmth and is most suitable for growth at an annual average of 24-27°C. It can grow in the range of 15-40°C. 15 Growth is slow below 10°C and basically stops growing below 10°C. 5°C is the critical temperature for cold damage.
The planting depth is generally not more than 1/5 of the bud length. After planting, place it in a shaded place and keep the pot soil dry. It will take about 1 month to take root at a temperature of 22~24℃. The optimum temperature for root growth is 29-31°C. Growth will stop if it is lower than 5°C or higher than 43°C. Roots begin to grow in March and grow rapidly as the temperature increases. Growth reaches its peak from late May to July, then slows down after October. From December to February of the following year, the near-surface root system dies due to cold and drought. The leaves begin to grow when spring is warm. From May to July, the leaves are dark green and grow faster. They basically stop growing in winter and the leaves turn red and yellow. If the leaf tissue is dehydrated and turns green due to cold damage, it will dry up.
Moisture
It has strong drought tolerance, but still needs a certain amount of moisture for growth and development. It can grow in areas with annual rainfall of 500-2800mm, and is evenly distributed with 1000-1500mm. For optimal conditions, the annual rainfall in my country's production areas is mostly above 1,000mm, and most of it is concentrated from April to August when growth is vigorous, basically meeting the water requirements. When the soil is short of water, the pineapple plant has the function of self-regulation, reducing transpiration intensity, slowing down respiration, and saving water reserves in the leaves to maintain life activities; when there is severe water shortage, the leaves will turn red and yellow, and must be irrigated in time to prevent them from drying out; too much rain, High soil moisture will cause root rot and plant rot or wilting. Therefore, water must be drained promptly after heavy rain or rainstorms.
Light
Pineapple originally grew in semi-shaded tropical rain forests and is relatively shade-tolerant. Due to long-term artificial cultivation and domestication, its light requirements have increased. It grows well under sufficient light and the fruit contains sugar. High quantity and good quality; insufficient light will lead to slow growth, high acid content in the fruit and poor quality. If the light is reduced by 20%, the yield will be reduced by 10%. However, if the light is too strong and the temperature is high, the leaves will turn red and yellow, and the fruits will be easily burned.
Soil
Pineapple has a wide adaptability to soil. Since the root system is shallow and aerobic, it should be grown in loose, well-drained, organic matter-rich sandy loam or soil with a pH value of 5 to 5.5. Mountain red soil is better, but thin, heavy, poorly drained soil and high groundwater levels are not conducive to pineapple growth.
Wind
Pineapples are dwarf and have little direct impact on wind damage. Winds below Level 3 are also beneficial to respiration. Strong typhoons and strong winds can also knock down plants, break fruit stems, and twist leaves, affecting normal growth and development; cold winds and rain in winter can cause heartburn.