“In 1911, Henry Ginaca invented the Ginaca machine that could peel and core 35 pineapples per minute, making canned pineapple much easier to produce.  Before this, each pineapple had to be peeled and cored by hand.  Because of this invention, Dole’s pineapple canning business exploded and other pineapple canneries soon adopted the machine.” {Eat This!  http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-facts-about-pineapples.html}

If you have ever been perplexed about how to deal with a whole fresh pineapple, just follow the pictures below.  You won’t be able to do 35 pineapples per minute, like the Ginaca machine, but in less than 10 minutes, you can have a delicious pineapple cut & ready to eat, or use for smoothies, margaritas, pancakes, yogurt, ice cream topping or whatever you fancy.  If you have a dehydrator, fresh pineapple is delicious when cut into pieces & dried.  No sugar is required before drying, so it is less sweet than commercially dried pineapple, which I have seen crusted in sugar.

If you can get them, I highly recommend Maui Gold Pineapples, not because I live on Maui, but because they are lower in acid & are tastier.  Try pineapple sprinkled with a little sea salt-it complements the sweet-tart flavor of the fruit.

Why eat pineapple?  Here are a few reasons, from The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth {Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.}:
* 1 cup cubed fresh fruit has almost 100% of the Daily Value of manganese, which is a trace mineral required for healthy skin.
* Pineapple has a good amount of vitamin C, plus some other vitamins & minerals.
* 1 cup fruit has about 2 grams of fiber
* Pineapple’s glycemic load {the impact of a food on your blood sugar} is relatively low.
* It tastes great!