There is probably no other fruit that says “Hawaiian” like the pineapple. People eat tons of the yummy fruit every year, especially in the Hawaiian Islands. The lucky people get to eat this fruit fresh in the islands. The rest of us, though, get to enjoy it in canned form, or squeezed as a juice. It is truly a wonderful food that helps you really get into the spirit of the islands.
Interestingly enough, the pineapple is not a true native plant to the islands. Like many other plants, it was brought to the Hawaiian Islands some time ago. It is an adopted child of the islands.
To find the true history of the pineapple, one must make a trip to the Americas. To be specific, you would need to go to South America. The native tribes of the southern part of inland Brazil were the first to cultivate this wonderful fruit. Over time, they spread the plant throughout South America. In time, as the ability to travel by sea improved, the pineapple found a home in the Caribbean.
Eventually, Christopher Columbus and crew came to the Caribbean, and brought some of the plants back to Spain. The plant was well received and moved throughout the Spanish domain. Eventually, we can even see the plant making it to the Philippines and India. By the late 1800’s the fruit was in Zimbabwe, Africa. It was also introduced to Guam around the same time. So, the pineapple plant had found a home all around the world, by the time it was introduced to the shores of the Hawaiian Islands.
The first pineapple plants made it to Hawaii somewhere around 1813. The soil, rain levels, and climate proved to be beneficial to the growth of the plant. By 1892, the pineapple plants had done so well in Hawaii that they could be commercially grown and shipped. A new industry in Hawaii had been born.
In the early part of the 20th Century, James Dole started his now famous pineapple plantation in Hawaii. Del Monte also started a plantation around the same time. Over on Maui, in 1917, the Maui Pineapple Company was started. So, by 1920, the pineapple business was truly big business in the islands.
By 1986, Del Monte was in the process of moving its operations out of the Hawaiian Islands, in favor of a plant in Costa Rica. The operations were in full swing by 1996, and by 2006, Del Monte was completely out of any operations in Hawaii, leaving only Dole and the Maui Pineapple Company. The Costa Rican operation was as much a matter of economics for Del Monte, as anything. Now, they market their own derivatives of the Hawaiian pineapple. So, the American public now eats a lot of pineapple that was grown in South America.
For many years, the pineapple industry was aided by the Pineapple Research Institute in Hawaii. The research institute was developed to help research into making better tasting pineapples, as well as pineapples that could resist disease better, and handle drier climates. As Del Monte began the process of getting out of the Hawaiian Islands, the Pineapple Research Institute was dissolved, and the assets were divided among the three big players in the game.
Today, there are many people who still believe that the pineapple grown in the Hawaiian Islands is the best pineapple in the world. You will hear people remark about the genuine taste of pineapple drown in the islands. As true lovers of Hawaii, we agree. There is nothing like biting into the fresh cut pineapple that is available all over the Hawaiian Islands.
The next time you get a chance to eat some fresh Hawaiian pineapple, take a moment and think about the generational process that took place to bring the pineapple from South America, to the Hawaiian Islands, and eventually all over the world. Even though the pineapple got its humble start in a land thousands of miles away, it is now a very native part of the Hawaiian Islands, and a genuine joy. In the same spirit, we ask you to think about the many Hawaiians who have given land, home, and sweat equity to help raise the most delicious pineapple in the world. It has become part of the spirit of aloha.
Thanks to all the many people of Hawaii who help to bring the rest of the world this wonderful tasty treat. We appreciate the work you do, and the tradition you carry on from the humble beginnings of the first pineapple plant in the early 1800’s. A visit to the Hawaiians Islands would not be the same without you.
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Mahalo.
