PINEAPPLES are a tropical treat. If the taste is not enough, they will help you meet your daily requirements for fruit! Since it is recommended that we eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, why not snack on a fresh cut-up pineapple, or experience its flavor in a savory dish? Pineapples have a unique flavor due to a perfect blend of sugar and acids, so they taste wonderful with a wide variety of meals.
Pineapple is versatile: 
Pineapple’s sweet flavor adds a really nice balance to many savory dishes like stir-frys. It makes a great condiment sliced on top of a burger, in a sandwich, in salsa or desserts. This fruit can be served fresh, cooked or preserved in a jam or jelly. Grilling is a simple but delicious method to prepare pineapple for a snack or side. Like applesauce, crushed pineapple can be substituted in baked goods to replace some of the fat. For example, when making carrot cake it is common to used crushed pineapple to replace some of the oil. Fresh pineapple also has a unique property for tenderizing meat. It contains a powerful protein called bromelin which breaks down proteins and can even help you with digestion. This mechanism results in a delicious, moist cake, or tenderized steak. Bromelin can aid with recovery from injury and help reduce inflammation. This is good news for athletic injuries or normal aches and pains, including a sore throat! Pineapple has a considerable amount of vitamins and minerals including calcium, fiber, potassium, manganese and vitamin C. Just ½ a cup of pineapple juice will supply you with 50% of your vitamin C needs for the day.
Pineapple juice is refreshing. Next time you are lying on the beach (or just walking to your next class), hydrate yourself with pineapple juice! You will also restore your immune system, and keep your bones and connective tissues strong. Pineapple is shown to help with the growth of bones in young people and even strengthen bones as we get older. Pineapples should make you smile. Not only do they have amusing green hair, but they help remove plaque and keep teeth strong and healthy.
At Penn State, pineapple made it’s way into many of the recipes served on campus, like the Teriyaki Vegetable Stir-Fry, Island Grilled Fish w/ Pineapple Salsa, Hawaiian Pizza and Fiery Mandarin Chicken. Fresh-cut pineapple chunks are often available on the fruit bar or packaged in our “4-The-Road” cups for a healthy snack to take on the go!
Don’t let pineapples’ tropical facade fool you, they may appear to be on vacation but their health benefits are always on the job.
Resources:
Md. Farid Hossain, Shaheen Akhtar, Mustafa Anwar. Nutritional Value and Medicinal Benefits of Pineapple. International Journal of
Nutrition and Food Sciences. Vol. 4, No. 1, 2015, pp. 84-88. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20150401.22 <http://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20150401.22.pdf>
Photos adapted from: Janine, Tauno Tõhk / 陶诺, terren in Virginia, Chris Pople