Raw pineapple

[ChrisGreaves]

(Please see also this thread
What is so especial about pineapple?
The packet of jelly powder says "Fruit (except raw pineapple) may be added ..."

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[HansV]

Raw pineapple contains an enzyme Bromelain that will prevent the jelly from setting. The enzyme will also cause yoghurt to become watery and can help to tenderize tough meat (because it breaks down proteins). Heat will deactivate the enzym, so if you put the pineapple chunks in boiling water for a few minutes it'll be OK.

Kiwi and papaya contain similar enzymes.

[ChrisGreaves]

Raw pineapple contains an enzyme Bromelain that will prevent the jelly from setting. The enzyme will also cause yoghurt to become watery and can help to tenderize tough meat (because it breaks down proteins). Heat will disactivate the enzym, so if you put the pineapple chunks in boiling water for a few minutes it'll be OK. Kiwi and papaya contain similar enzymes.

Fantastic response, and I have quoted it in full.
All my life I've poo-poohed the common alarum about allergies to minor food stuffs⁽¹⁾, but your response (and my earlier comments about not liking the taste of raw pineapple) have sent my head spinning.

I don't particularly like raw pineapple, kiwi or papaya. I like most other fruits, from both warm and cold climes. My parents used to speak of this as "Chris doesn't like pineapple because we couldn't get it easily after The War", but funnily enough I like bannana which grows in the tropics.

Two weeks ago I discovered that the cubed and boiled/sterilized pineapple chunks are delightful - to me - in salads.

So now I'm wondering if that was all there was/is to it.

If I'm allergic to Bromelain (comes from bromeliads, no doubt), then all I ever needed to do was to eat the fruit boiled.

And presumably the pleasure receievd in my mind when I eat boiled pineapple cubes is akin to the pleasure felt by the rest of the normal population.



⁽¹⁾ North Americans seem especially prone to blame everything up to and including car-wrecks on allergies

[HansV]

The concentration of bromelain is highest in the tough and fibrous stem (core) of the pineapple. If you cut the chunks too close to the stem, even people who aren't allergic to pineapple may get a prickly, irritated feeling on their tongue, the roof of their mouth and in their throat, so it's better to remove slightly more than the stem than to include bits of the stem.

[ChrisGreaves]

If you cut the chunks too close to the stem,

Bit late for that advice now, now that the chunks are all sterilized in the jars (grin).

... get a prickly, irritated feeling on their tongue,

Hmmm. I don't get a tangible or visible reaction as such, just a message from my brain 'Don't really like this". I can't recall ever having a rash, vomited, had prickly feelings or any sensation I could link to a nerve ending, except, or course, my taste buds. My tongue sends a message to my brain "rather not eat this", and that's it.