Little darlings of the pineapple world

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Oct 30th 2006 @ 6:06PM

A few years ago I was in South Africa and stopped by the local Woolworths. Woolworths in South Africa is not the same as the US stores. It is a high end department store affiliated to Marks and Spencer in the United Kingdom, with an amazing food store inside. One of the first things I saw were these tiny little pineapples the size of large baseballs. I bought a dozen since they were both inexpensive by local rates, and with the incredible exchange rate of dollars for rand they cost me pennies. They were the most amazing pineapples I ever tasted. Sweet, but even more so, full of intense pineapple flavor. I tried to ration them out when I got back onto my ship but when I offered tastes to a few of my friends the matter was settled. They were gone within hours of leaving port. They were so good I dreamed about them off and on for weeks. When I eventually got back home to the US a few months later I did some research and found out they were the Queen Victoria breed and that until recently they couldn't be found outside South Africa, basically because they went bad so fast. Further reading told me that a few years ago they started shipping them to Europe upon occasion but they were very rare.

A month or so ago I saw some tiny little pineapples at my local supermarket. They were even smaller than the ones I remembered from South Africa and were $5 each. I wasn't going to pay that much for something the size of a small baseball so I just looked them over and passed on by. Over the past few weeks they just lay there unsold at the market and looking more and more miserable every day. (Yes I am one of those supermarket addicts who shops almost every day.) Then the price started to go down a few weeks ago and they seemed to be selling slowly. I checked out the tags and they said that they were from South Africa. Hmmm... I wondered if they were Queen Victoria's or just some cheap knock-off. Today they I noticed them again and this time they were fresh and looking all kinds of fine, and best of all, the price had dropped to $2 each. So I picked up three and as soon as I got home I peeled them down and dove in. Yes they were almost exactly what I remembered. Sweet and with a most intense pineapple flavor. If you get a chance and see these in your local market, if the price is right and they look nice and fresh, then buy one and see if they are as good as I find them to be. I remember Nicole posting about growing pineapples and as I was writing this I did a search about how to grow them, and now with a bit of luck I hope to raise a few baby Queen Victoria's myself.

Filed Under: Food Oddities, Raves & Reviews, Ingredients, How To
Tags: america, baby pineapple, fruit, oddities, Pineapple, queen victoria pineapple, south africa

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-30-2006 @8:47PM James said... Can't you grow pineapples just by having the top part left over from a eaten pineapple? You can basically grow your own.
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10-31-2006 @9:34AM Logan said... I saw were these tiny little pineapples the size of large baseballs......I didn't know there were different sizes of baseballs....HA ! I don't care all I care about is getting some tiny pineapples for my self.
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11-16-2006 @1:42PM Ronald Blythe said... I know about these pineapples. You can find them in other tropical countries too. And $2 is still
a ridiculous price for this kind of pineapple. But you're right, they taste so sweet and you can really get the full pineapple flavor. And it doesn't leave that itchy numbing feeling on your tongue like those big yet extremely sour pineapples do.
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12-23-2006 @6:18AM crzygurl said... http://www.melissas.com has these baby pineapples from south africa. you can order them as well as tons of other exotic fruits, veggies, nuts, spices and they will ship them to you. i've tried them and they really are delicious.
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