[Sca-cooks] Pineapples

[Terry Decker]

Botanists believe the pineapple is indigenous to the Amazon Basin and that
it spread into the Caribbean via inter-tribal trade.

As for Columbus, bring the pineapple back to Europe, that's possible.  I've
seen the claim made by a number of sources, but I have yet to see a source
quoted as evidence of the veracity of the claim.  Since Columbus did not
mention them in the journal of his first voyage, I doubt seriously he found
them then.  He may have encountered them on the voayge of 1493 (northern
Caribbean) or of 1498 (coast of Venezuela), but I have found no verifiable
references, although I am curious about Oviedo as a possible source.

Could you point me to the references you used?

Bear


>    I think I just combined two posts  -- Nonetheless,  I did some
>researching a couple years back about Pineapple.  It is indigeneouas to the
>Caribean  and Colombus did bring it back to Spain on all his voyages.  The
>pineapple itself can stay "fresh" {edible} for a very long time, so it
could
>have survived the voyage home, esp if it was more green than golden.
>
>    Caointiarn