10 THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT THE PINEAPPLE

1. The pineapple takes three years to fruit.
2. It was discovered for Europe by Christopher Columbus.
3. The pineapple is the only known source of bromelein, an enzyme that digests protein - it is, literally flesh-eating .
4. The pineapple was a much sought after
commodity on board ship, not only for combating scurvy, but also because its high acid content could be used to scrub the deck.
5. The first pineapple in England was presented to Oliver Cromwell.
6. Many people in the 17th century believed that it caused cholera and over-heated the blood.
7. By the mid 1720s every self-respecting aristocrat in England aspired to owning a pinery.
8. During this time the enormous cost of the
cultivation of just one pineapple was about £80 (nearly £5,000 today) the cost of a new coach.
9. By 1820 the first large-scale cargo of pineapples arrived in Britain. By 1850, 200,000 pineapples were being unloaded onto London’s docksides every year.
10. Today 80 countries harvest 15 million tons of pineapple a year.

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