Couldn't believe my pretty pink eyes when you arrived. This pink-loving (obsessed?) gal wanted to love pink pineapples badly. Pink pineapples are real - and I have mixed feelings about them.
What we know is the classic beta-carotene yellow pineapple.
Please meet the pink pineapples - the engineered lycopene-rich sibling of the classic beta-carotene yellow pineapple.
Quickie pink pineapple history: Research began in 2005 by Del Monte Fresh. In 2011, the company began planting them in Costa Rica. In 2020, they were officially launched to the public. Sold for $10-$49/heads. For heads that do not come with their crowns (the leafy tops used to propagate new plants).
Pink pineapple is a genetically engineered pineapple variety developed by Fresh Del Monte.
All fruits & veggies get their colors from natural plants pigments (I’m especially oppressed with veggies with anthocyanins like purple cauliflower, purple potatoes, purple kale).
The pink in pink pineapples color comes from lycopene, the same pigment that gives pink fruits, like pink lemons and watermelon. Some pink fruits happen by happy accident in nature - but pink pineapple is a little more… engineered. Scientists slowed the step that normally turns the pineapple yellow.
Pineapples actually start out pink.
As pineapples develop, this pink pigment (lycopene) is converted into a yellow-orange pigment (beta-carotene). Scientists developed pink pineapple by preventing the fruit from converting lycopene into the usual yellow carotenoids (or slowing this process down). Either way, the pineapple stays pink and we get to enjoy its pretty pink flesh.
Pink pineapple is the classic yellow pineapple, but with higher levels of lycopene instead of beta-carotene, which means the flesh to stay pink.
A fruit designed to be highly Instagrammable. An edible “millennial pink” accessory.
Pink pineapples are grown on a single farm in Costa Rica and are patented by Del Monte Fresh. The fruit is sold exclusively by Del Monte Fresh under the officially branded name, Pinkglow® pineapple.
Thank you so much Melissa's Produce for sending me these pretty pink beauties!
A delicious, dried pineapple creation coming soon - pretty pink, sweet, chewy, candy-like slices.
More Pink Produce
Pink pineapple caught your eye? Same. Pink produce is kind of my love language (and purple veggies have a very special place in my heart).
Here's more pretty pink to explore:
- Pink Apples – stunning pink-fleshed apples.
- Pink Lemons – the slightly sweeter, more delicate sibling of the classic yellow.
- Pink Oyster Mushrooms – the glam, hot pink mushroom that cooks up even better than it looks.
- Pink Asparagus – the rarest asparagus color of them all, and almost too pretty to cook.
- Pink Garlic – the rosy-cheeked, slightly sweeter, prettier version of this ancient pungent allium.
If you get your hands on some pretty pink pineapple, (don't think you spot these beauties at the farmers market) – play and I’d love to see too – tag me on Instagram, @danielagerson – I'd love to see.
There’s a whole wide world of colorful fruits and veggies out there - hope this inspires you to bring more of it home and play.
Let's make waves in the kitchen.
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