Zannannan Viktoria
In Seychelles we grow quite a few types of pineapples including zannannan larenn, zannannan maron, zannannan Matatiken, zannannan mengar, zannannan mistikenn and zannannan viktorya.
Zannannan viktorya and zannannan larenn may be the same type of pineapple since they are named after the Queen Victoria who apparently used to enjoy the pineapple. It is the most sought after pineapple and highly appreciated for its sweet taste, fragrant smell and golden-yellow fruit. It was introduced in Mauritius in 1830 and it is safe to assume that it would have been introduced to the Seychelles around that time. It was once planted in the backyard around most households and sadly you do not see much it any more despite the fact that it is so easy to plant. It is now mainly grown in small farms.
Zannannan Mengar
Zannannan mengar also known as the Smooth Cayenne is also quite a popular pineapple. They were introduced in Mauritius from Hawaii in 1931 and was probably introduced in Seychelles soon after. Incidentally, ‘Mengar’ is a very popular family in Mauritius and this may be how the pineapple got its name. The fruit has a cylindrical form with an average weight of 2 kg, shallow ‘eyes’, an orange rind and juicy yellow flesh at full maturity with a mildly acid flavour. The leaves are free from spines (prickles) but there is a sharp spine (needle) at the leaf tip.
Zannannan Mistikenn
Zannannan mistikenn is a wild pineapple that tends to like rocky environment. It is edible but can either be very sweet or very sour and is therefore ideal for salad.
As a young boy I use to enjoy planting my own pineapple. I would snap the crown of a ripe pineapple and place it straight into prepared soil and protecting it from the sun for a few weeks and watering it constantly. Some people prefer to soak the base of the crown in water and wait for a few weeks for the roots to sprout before planting. Once the roots start to appear I would ensure that it got as much sunlight as possible and then waited for at least two years for it to bear. It is a slow-growing plant, but believe me, it is worth the wait. Each plant produces a pineapple one at a time.
Another way that we used to grow the pineapple was by snapping the suckers, that arise from the stem below the soil of the mature plant, and planting them . The suckers are usually more slender with longer leaves than the shoots. The crown is however the preferred way to grow the pineapple as it tends to produce a more uniform fruit.
How do I know that a pineapple is ready to eat?
The pineapple does not improve in eating quality after harvesting. For pineapples to attain maximum sugar content and best flavour, they must be allowed to ripen completely on the plant. If harvested too early, the fruit will be flavourless with poor aroma and have almost colourless flesh. The flesh will also be very acidic, and extremely susceptible to internal browning and chilling injury. Fruit harvested too late, is very sweet, with low acidity and with distinct yellow colour flesh. These fruits are very fragile and susceptible to fungal attack with the possibility of the onset of fermentation taking place. This is the fruit that is prefered when one wants to brew one’s own jungle juice or lapire. I will elaborate more on this topic is a separate post.
The eyes mature and become flatter progressively from bottom to top, with the lower part of the fruit being riper than the upper part. Fruit maturity is generally determined by the extent of fruit eye flatness and skin yellowing .One popular little trick to test if your pineapple is ready is to pull off one of the middle leaves from the crown. If it comes off with only a slight resistance, the pineapple is good to go.
In Seychelles we do not traditionally use the pineapple in cooking. It is usually eaten sliced or in a fruit salad, or turned into a sweet and salty, and at time spicy, salad that is eaten in the afternoon and not as a dessert.
Sometimes eating fruits including pineapple or drinking citrus fruit juices create an acidic environment in the mouth and can at times cause sour sensation of teeth which is due to the acidic action on teeth. The local remedy is to chew on one bilimbi for a minute and spitting it out and the sour teeth will instantaneously disappear.
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