[ √ ] Dole Pineapple Plantation
Today I pineapple'd it up at the Dole Plantation!
Before my walk around the garden, I decided to get a pineapple float. It had Dole whip - the greatest thing ever invented - in pineapple juice. IT WAS SO GOOD!
Here I am enjoying said pineapple float :)
During my garden tour, I found out many interesting facts. I will share them with you throughout this post :)
For instance, I was surprised to learn it takes almost two years for a pineapple to grow! Talk about patience!
Jim "The Pineapple King" Dole!
Where did it all begin?
Many don't know that pineapples are not native to Hawaii. The pineapple is believe to have originated in Paraguay. About the 15th and 16th century it was traded by ships to locations such as Mexico, Australia, China, and India. Columbus even brought some back to Europe after his adventures in the "New World". George Washington even grew them at his Mount Vernon home!
No one is certain when the pineapple arrived in Hawaii, but Capt. John Kidwell is credited for founding Hawaii's pineapple industry. In the 1880s, he imported many varieties and selected the Smooth Cayenne for it's cylindrical form and uniform texture. But it was Jim Dole who pioneered the industry and became known as the "Pineapple King"!
At it's peak in the 1930s, Hawaii provided 2/3 of the world's canned and fresh pineapple!
Below are some pictures of different pineapples...
Look! A red pineapple! Crazy! This is actually a Comosus Prozenas from South America.
A non-red Comosus Prozenas
A tiny little baby Smooth Cayenne pineapple. This is the kind of pineapple you'd find in Hawaii.
These cool pineapples-on-a-stick are called Microcephalus.
Shh...don't tell them that means small brain, I think it'd hurt their feelings.
Rondon pineapples from Brazil!
A cute little Apaporis pineapple from Columbia
Fun directional signs
Only 17 miles from my house!
This is an interesting chart. It displays the growth cycle of a pineapple. Good to know because I think I'll try my hand at planting my own!
I don't know what this plant is, but it was really pretty looking!
Yup! I got to ride the Pineapple Express!
While I was waiting, I got to see this little cycle of life!
Yup! That bird is eating a grasshopper by the train tracks!
ALL ABOARD!
That's what you call front row seating! I was right behind the engine!
Can you spot the bananas?
Rows and rows of pineapple-y bliss!
Ah, I love living where it's green!
Our scenic tour around the plantation...
This is the Tanada Reservoir. It supplies the water for the drip system irrigation of the plantation.
Me, hangin' loose on the train!
They grow a lot more than just pineapples!
They also grow mangos and bread fruit and much more.
We've come to the end of our train tour
Don't mind the shine over my face, I took this sneakily and quickly. They take your picture before the train ride and then wanted $20 for it! It's a good one, but NOT $20 good!
Pineapple takes it scientific name, ananas comosus, from the word Ananas; meaning "excellent fruit" in the language of the Paraquay's Guarani Indians. It definitely IS an excellent fruit!
I went to a pineapple demonstration and I learned some more interesting facts!
How to pick the best pineapple:
1. Make sure it is firm all over - no soft spots!
2. Make sure it doesn't smell sweet. If you can smell it, that means it's already started to ferment.
3. Make sure it has uniform eyes. The eyes are the circle/diamond shapes all around it. You want to make sure they are the same size from the top of the pineapple to the bottom!
4. The color of the pineapple does not matter. It can be green and still perfectly ripe. They only turn yellow from the amount of sun exposure they receive.
It's also interesting to know that once a pineapple has been picked, it will NOT continue to ripen. They will last 5 days after being picked, ten additional days if you refrigerate them. So eat 'em if you got 'em!
If you'd like to know how to grow these beauties yourself, I can tell you!
Twist off the crown and dry it for two days.
Peel back some of the leaves so you have a nice stem going.
Soak it in water for 10 days.
Plant it.
Water once a week.
Wait approximately 2 years.
Then pick and enjoy!
You can grow about 6 - 8 pineapples from one crown!
My souvenir! Pineapple hard candy with a delicious chewy center! YUM!
And to keep me company on my drive home, a classic favorite of mine, cinnamon roasted pecans! I love love LOVE them!
All in all, a great day! I ❤ Pineapples!
This is soooooooooooo cool! I love pineapples!!! The more pictures you post the more I wanna go live in hawaii!!!
ReplyDeleteHow fun!!!! I Totally want grow a pineapple!! :) I had no idea how they grew... I guess I never really thought about it! You learn something new when you visit Andra's blog!!
ReplyDeletelol Thanks Jess! Living here is definitely different than AZ, but there's nothing like home!
ReplyDeleteOh E, you should grow your own! That'd be awesome! I'm so glad to teach you new things! :D
Pineapples are my absolute FAV!!! I had no idea there were so many different kinds!!! And that float concoction looks just divine!
ReplyDeletePs. Thanks for the book on tape idea during my drive to good ol' AZ. I listend to one that I didn't even get to finish so now I'm listening to it every where I go, every errand I run. (Derick's SO over it but it's getting REALLY GOOD because it's almost over)
Anyway, Thanks for the advice and keep up the awesome adventures!!!
Monique - Oh I love pineapples too :D And the float WAS divine! lol I'm glad the audio book worked out for you! And that's exactly how I was when I listened to Water for Elephants on my last drive out to AZ. lol I took it in the house and would listen to it at bedtime. Of course, I was so involved in it, I didn't sleep LOL Glad it worked well for you!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a ton of fun! I may have to try to create my own kind of pineapple float. I will die if I don't have one soon!
ReplyDeleteOk first off, YUMMY! You look like youre having so much fun doing all this fun stuff there. I wish i was there with you! Dang you Atlantic ocean!! Ok im not gonna lie, i dont know if thats the right ocean but it sounded good right?! hahaha love ya
ReplyDeleteChablis - Oh!!! I wish I could send you some! It's sooo delicious!
ReplyDeleteT - It WAS yummy and so much fun!!! I wish you were here with me too! And... you were close, but it's the Pacific ocean that separates us! The Atlantic ocean is what separates the East coast of the US and England/Europe :)