[Sca-cooks] Pineapples

[Decker, Terry D.]

AFAIK, they were eaten rarely.  I suspect they were eaten raw, but I've seen
no evidence of how they were prepared.

Liguistic evidence suggests that they were known to be edible fruit.  The
local name was "nana," which translates to something like "fragrant fruit,"
and that has been used as the basis of the species name, "Ananas."  German,
for example refers to pineapples as "Ananas."  The Spanish referred to them
as "pinyas," probably because they looked like pine cones, and this seems to
have been transferred to England.  So that might tenuously support your
speculation.

It might be worth checking Oviedo's "Historia general y natural de las
Indias, Islas y Tierra-Firme del Mar Oceano" to see if he provides any
evidence of when and where pineapples came to Europe.  And Father Jose de
Acosta of the Society of Jesus, comments on pineapples in his "Natural and
Moral History of the Indies," 1589, reprinted in English by the Hakluyt
Society in the 19th Century.  Unfortunately, I do not have copies of either
of these works.

Working against your speculation, pineapples were first grown in Europe in
the 17th Century.  Therefore, they had to be imported, a rather difficult
and not overly successful undertaking given the nature of the fruit.  I've
found no information on how it was done, but I think they would have been
transported as live plants, which would likely limit the availability, even
in Spain.

Leonard Fuchs "Primi de stirpivm historia..." of 1545 has capsicum peppers,
corn, and potatoes, but no pineapple.  They also don't appear in any period
paintings I can recall.

The first English monarch I know to have received pineapple was Charles II,
who was painted with one prominently displayed in a bowl of fruit.
Presumably, this was the first hot house grown pineapple in England, which
was grown and presented to the king by John Rose.

Barring more evidence in its favor, I would say pineapples in the English
Court is a very wild speculation.

Bear

> Do we know how they were eaten? Raw? Baked? Stewed? Were they
> perceived
> to be a fruit (like a strawberry) or a vegetable (like an artichoke)?
>
> Just as a wild speculation, would/could the idea be supported that the
> Spanish Ambassador to England gave them as a gift, or had their cook
> prepare them for a meal in their quarters at the English Court? What
> about Queen Catherine? She was a Spaniard.
>
> MD/Marged
>